The Mediterranean is a sea of islands – Greece alone has over 3,000, but the largest, most dramatic and perhaps least appreciated is Crete.  For us Crete is the jewel that glitters brightest on this southern most fringe of Europe.  Like an almost forgotten sceptre is her isolation and rugged splendor she lies at the very heart of the cradle of Western civilization.

Crete stretches for over 256 km across the Mediterranean, is blessed with 330 days of sunshine a year, and yet her 8,000 foot mountains are snow covered from November to May.  Crete is an island with a civilisation that stretches back over 6,000 years.  Crete has been home to the Minoans, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Byzantines, Venetians and Turks – all have left their mark. The sheer kaleidoscope of architectural styles and color that flourish here are testimony to the durability of the Cretan people who have survived despite 2,000 years of subjugation, slavery and the ravages of World War II.

Our intention is to enjoy some of the most interesting hiking in Europe and to take you beneath the veneer of tourism so that you that you will come to appreciate what we have already discovered – that Crete and her people offer a very special kind of experience.

Leading the trip will be Dig Bulmer, a fully qualified European Mountain Leader and Maria Georgalaki.  Maria who is Cretan is also a fully qualified Mountain Guide with a wealth of knowledge and information to share with us.  She studied in Paris and is a member of the guiding team of George Antonakakis.