Walking trails on Crete, Koxari, Haraso & Voritsi: This is a hike which is not easy to find, secret little paths through olive groves, villages and to a monastery. This walk is not marked with dots or signs. Very often we have a wonderful view over the sea. We walk through villages where time stood still.
Category and difficulty of the walking trails on Crete – Koxari and Haraso: This is not a difficult hike, there are many different walking paths, but we also go away from the paths and go straight through nature and olive groves. This walking round-trip we can easily adjust for the beginning and the advanced walkers. Only in the beginning of the walk you have to climb up a dirt road and through olive groves. Most of the walk is through a rolling landscape. The route then goes slowly downwards to end up again at the starting point.
Walking trails on Crete – Walking through villages on Crete
Information about the walk: You can do this hike on your own starting from the accommodation. The easiest way is to go by car, other transport or guided to the starting point of the hike. You can also walk back to your accommodation. This is an easy walk. The hike starts at a height of 138 metres and the highest point of the hike will be 411 metres. This walking round-trip is 10 kilometres, but can be easily extended to 20-25 kilometres. You can do this hike 12 months a year.
What to bring for the hike: Walking shoes or sport shoes with a good profile. Backpack with lunch and water for on the way.
The hike Koxari, Haraso and Voritsi: An unexpected beautiful walk through nature on walking trails, but also just through the fields and olive groves. The height difference is not more than 300 metres. The trail of the hike goes through 3 characteristic little villages. In these villages we walk through narrow little streets, so you get a good impression of the typical Cretan villages. During the hike you often have a wonderful view over the sea and Dia Island. Along the way we stop at a monastery. There are also many great spots for a nice picnic along these walking trails on Crete.
Walking trails on Crete – Information on the villages you walk through
Villages along the way: Koxari, Hariso and Voritsi. Below we give a short description of the villages.
Koxari: The village Koxari is at an altitude of 180 meters, approximately 25 kilometres east from the capital Heraklion. Somewhere around 150 persons live in this village. It is in the green valley of the river Karkanias. It is an old village with nice narrow streets, hidden between lemon and orange trees. In the 17th century the village was in feudal ownership of the Grego family. Part of the village was given as a dowry to Helena Grego who in 1618 married the poet Marco Antonio Foskolo. Near Koxari is the monastery of Kyra Eleousa.
Kyra Eleousa Monastery on Crete: The monastery is from the end of the 16th century. It is, in fact, between the villages Koxari, Haraso, Voritsi and Skotino. Judging by the ruins that are still standing, this monastery was autonomous and built according to the needs of fortification in the Venetian time. It was built on the ruins of an earlier monastery, which was almost certainly built in its turn on the site of an older sanctuary. Two columns are the only remains of these older buildings; a stone column in the garden and one of marble which supports the main entrance. The triangular-shaped main entrance is known as “Charasini”, because it leads to the village of Charaso nearby. The church has two ancient tombs of monks or abbots. The monastery has a beautiful renovated courtyard. Nowadays the monastery is together with the monastery of Agarathos.
The villages of Haraso and Voritsi
Haraso: The village location is higher than Koxari, at an altitude of over 400 meters. The word Haraso or Charaso means beautiful in the Slavic language. The village was so named because of its beauty and the magnificent views that the Slavic soldiers had. They camped in the area, under the leadership of the Byzantine emperor Nikiforos Fokas, who had come to liberate Crete from the Arabs. It is a traditional and beautiful little village with an olive factory and even a school.
At the school premises you can still experience how the children used to pass their time in that tiny village, hidden in the hills. From the village, an ancient kalderimi leads you to the monastery of Kyra Eleousa. Just outside the village are the ruins of four ancient stone windmills. It is an amazing view! In the village you can find a newly built church next to the old little church.
Voritsi: The official name of the village used to be Vorou, but that became Voritsi and even occasionally Pediados. It is at an altitude of 230 meters and there are around 60 inhabitants. The village itself is quite unknown, but there is one resident whose many Cretans still know the name, George Konstantoulakis. He lived the first decades of the 20th century in the village.
He had a great reputation in Central Crete for his therapeutic potential. According to stories he had the nickname ‘Moses’ and ‘prophet’. He was clairvoyant and he only used herbs from the area to heal people. Voritsi is just a very small village with a little square and a few narrow streets. There is also a tap that everyone can take drinking water from. The water comes directly from a spring and is safe to drink. The village is a perfect starting point for many hikes in the area.
Photo book walking excursions on Crete: A page with pictures of different hikes and walks.
More information
Hiking trails on Crete information page: All the hikes are accompanied by a guide, who gives you a lot of information about the history of Crete, nature, flora, fauna and culture. You enjoy meals out in the nature or at local Cretan taverns. The walkers determine the pace of the walk. Hiking trails on Crete info page. Walking trails on Crete.
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Walking trails on Crete