Hiking in Crete in Winter: Which Gorges Are Open
Samaria is shut until spring, but Imbros and Agia Irini can be walked all year. Which Cretan gorges work between November and March, which ones turn into streams, and how rain changes everything.
Winter is the best-kept secret of Cretan walking and the easiest way to get it wrong. The flagship, the Samaria Gorge, is shut until spring, but the gorges around it stay walkable, empty and green — on dry days. Pick the right gorge and the right day and you get the walk without the crowds or the heat. Pick the wrong day and a dry riverbed is no longer dry. Statuses below were checked against the national park authority’s ticketing sites and the Region of Crete’s pages on 9 November 2026.
The honest facts
- Samaria
- closed from 1 November 2026 to 9 April 2027 for the off season, according to the park’s ticketing site.
- Imbros
- listed by the Region of Crete as open all year; ticket mandatory, bought on the Imbros ticket site.
- Agia Irini
- about 7.5 km and three hours by the Region’s figures, generally described as open all year.
- Wet gorges
- Sarakina in the south-east cannot be passed without getting wet in winter; waterfall gorges run at their fullest from late winter into spring.
- The rule
- no gorge on a day with a weather warning or after heavy rain.
Samaria: wait for spring
The Samaria Gorge is a national park, and it closes completely outside its season. The ticketing site lists it as closed between 1 November 2026 and 9 April 2027; when it reopens depends on the park’s inspections and the weather, and the 2026 season did not start until 19 May. If Samaria is the reason for your trip, come from late spring to autumn. If you are here in winter, walk one of the gorges below and save Samaria for another year.
Imbros: the winter default
Imbros is the gorge to do in winter. It is eight kilometres downhill from Imbros village to Komitades, the Region describes it as easy, and its own page singles it out as the walk to do when Samaria is closed. The narrows, where the walls close to about two metres, are even more dramatic when there is nobody else in them. A ticket is still required; buy it on the official site before you set off rather than counting on a staffed booth. The real winter problem is the same as in summer, only worse: getting back up to your car, because the shared transport that serves the exit in season runs less or not at all. Go with two cars or arrange a lift in advance, or walk back up.
Agia Irini: green and quiet
Agia Irini, above Sougia in the south-west, is the other good winter choice: shaded, wooded, about three hours down, with water in the stream bed after the rains. It is the most beautiful of the western gorges in the green months. The catch is the same — buses to the south coast are thin in winter, so plan the return before you start, and allow for slower going on wet rock and leaves.
The wet gorges
Some gorges change character completely in winter. Sarakina, near Ierapetra, runs through a stream bed that is impassable without wading in winter, and after heavy rain you should not go in at all. The waterfall gorges in the east, like Richtis, are at their fullest from late winter into spring — the best time to see the falls, and the worst time for slippery crossings. Treat these as late-winter outings on settled days, not as walks for whatever the weather does.
Rain and short days
Winter rain in Crete comes in bursts, and a gorge collects water from a large catchment, so the stream bed can fill quickly. Check the forecast and any weather warnings the evening before and again in the morning, and if a storm has just passed, give the gorge a day or two. Days are short in December and January: start in the morning, carry a head torch, and tell someone your route and your finish time. Phone signal is patchy in the narrows.
The honest downside
Winter gorge walking takes more planning than summer. Transport back from the exits is scarce, the weather can rule out a day you had set aside, rock is slippery, and there is nobody around if you twist an ankle. Samaria, the gorge most visitors know, is simply not an option. And none of this replaces the sea: a winter walking trip is a walking trip, not a beach holiday with a walk on the side.
Worth it if: you want Crete’s gorges green, cool and empty, and you can be flexible about which day you walk. Skip it if: your heart is set on Samaria, or you cannot move a walk to a better day.
For the rest of the season, see Crete in January and February.
No photographs yet, and not written from a new visit. Gorge statuses were checked on the national park authority’s ticketing sites and the Region of Crete’s pages on 9 November 2026; check them again before you go. No business is named or promoted here, and nobody pays to be featured.
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Gorges
1 Imbros village 2 Komitades 3 Agia Irini village (gorge entrance) 4 Sougia 5 Xyloskalo (Samaria entrance, closed in winter)
Tap a name to open it in your map app. These are options, not an order — pick by the day you have.
Is the Samaria Gorge open in winter?
No. The park's official ticketing site says the Samaria National Park is closed from 1 November 2026 to 9 April 2027 for the off season. Even in season it closes on days of storms or dangerous heat, so check the ticketing site the evening before.
Which gorges in Crete can you walk in winter?
Imbros, in Sfakia, is listed by the Region of Crete as open all year, and Agia Irini, above Sougia, is generally described the same way. Both are dry riverbeds that become unsafe after heavy rain, so they are winter walks for dry spells, not for any day.
Do you need a ticket for the Imbros Gorge in winter?
A ticket is mandatory for entry, sold on the national park authority's Imbros ticket site; the Greek National Tourism Organisation gives the price as €5. In the quiet months the booth may not be staffed, so buy online before you set off.
Is it dangerous to walk a gorge in Crete after rain?
It can be. Gorges collect water from a large area, so a stream bed can fill quickly during or after heavy rain, and rockfall is more likely on wet slopes. Do not enter a gorge on a day with a weather warning or straight after a storm.
What should I take for a winter gorge walk in Crete?
Proper boots with grip, a waterproof, a warm layer, water and food, a charged phone and a head torch. Days are short in December and January, so start in the morning and allow for slow, wet rock.
Are the gorges busy in winter?
No — that is the point of going. You may have Imbros or Agia Irini almost to yourself on a weekday, which also means fewer people to help if something goes wrong. Tell someone your route and your expected finish time.
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