Bird watching in Crete: in the refugees of Gyps Fulvus and Gypaetus Barbatus

Zigzagging uphill through predator’s colonies, impressive land-forms, and cultural elements of mainland Crete. In the southwestern foothills of the massif of Psiloritis lies the Gorge of Platania offering a special tour. The marked path, bordered by vulture colony, climbs the hillside in a weaving, zigzagging manner crossing a scenery of unique land forms at the western boundaries of Psiloritis Geopark. The elevation of escalation is at the same time an entrance to the unknown world of birds of prey over the historical provinces of Amari and St. Vasilios, where the presence of even more rare big sedentary birds (predators and scavengers) has been recorded. Ideal place for bird watching raptors.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Platania Gorge, Rethymnon, Crete 740 61 Greece

From the western foot of Psiloritis Geopark we climb the gorge in a moderate tempo paying attention to all the aspects of this natural paradise. Besides short breaks for bird watching, we take one major break for a meal in nature under the shadow of the Kermes Oak trees.

General Info

Region: Rethymnon Prefecture, Western Crete

Mountain range: Psiloritis Range Geopark | Meeting point: Platania

Path-signaling: well marked, but easy to get confused without guidance

Path condition: generally good | Path length: 6 Km

Max. altitude: 850 m. | Elevation gain: 430 m. | Difficulty level: moderate

Duration: 5 hours