Crete E4: Agia Roumeli to Loutro

Leaving the most amazing campsite in Greece (at Agia Roumeli) is, in fact, a hard thing to do.

Beach Bums — Beach hike outside of Agia Roumeli.

First you walk for an hour on an unstable path over rocky beaches, then up a sandy hill looking out over the Libyan Sea.

Leaving Agia Roumeli — Higher and Higher.

Having gained some altitude, though, the path opens up and mostly evens out to a nice walk under a hot sun for several hours.

The goats will tell you when you’ve almost reached Cape Marmara, the hotel and chapel of which marks a return to settled areas for the next several days’ walk.

Holy Sea View — Chapel at Marmara. The dip down into the foreground is the start of the Aradhin Gorge.

From here, the little village of Loutro isn’t far. Probably the most popular tourist town in all of Greece, it makes for a great spot to enjoy a warm meal or a cold beer if your trails have been rough.

photo IMG_4015_zps00a1eb8a.jpg — The downhill stretch into Loutro.

photo IMG_3988_zps609473b0.jpg — Ferry coming in. As an aside, that island off in the distance is the southernmost land of Europe: Gavdos.

Of course, if the tourists hordes (which I’m told show up en masse from May through July) are too much, you could always pop back up the hill above town for a cheeky campsite inside the local Ottoman Fortress.