We plan to visit Samaria Gorge in mid-May using Fantasy Travel. According to their website and a contact we reached out to, the Gorge will officially be open at that time. However, the Samaria National Park website (samarian-necca.gov) states that the park will be closed until October 31, 2025, for geological work. Has anyone else encountered this issue?
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Colorado Mountains, USA
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The fall dates are confusing because we were on Crete in early October 2019. My husband hiked down the Samaria Gorge one day, and there had been some doubt because the National Park rangers close it sometime in early-to-mid-October for the year, due to fire danger. Once it’s closed, it’s closed, so I wouldn’t think it would get opened back up on November 1, after the October 31 closure had expired.
He lucked out, and it was still open the day he planned to go, but he ran across rangers who were coiling up fire hoses for the season, and it was going to be closing in the next few days, again, until the next year. I wonder if they’re doing rockslide work this year that would make it too dangerous for hikers, or if the geological work is scientific in nature, and they don’t want the public to mess up their research digs?
Maybe have Fantasy Travel double-check (or triple-check!) to guarantee that their customers are getting accurate information from them about the Gorge being accessible while you’re there. Have an extra camera battery, or a power pack for your phone. He took so many photos that his iPhone battery died before he got to the bottom!