Villages & Towns

Imbros

Sfakia, Chania · Free

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

About

The start of the Imbros gorge.

Imbros is a mountain village on the road from Chania to Sfakia, at the start of the Imbros gorge. It has tavernas and is a good place to start the walk.

Imbros lies at about 780 m, at the southern end of the fertile Askifou plateau. Legend says the village was founded by two brothers banished from the island of Imbros in Turkey. Before the road was built, a mule track through the Imbros gorge was the only connection between Chania and Chora Sfakion. Today the village has tavernas and parking for hikers starting the gorge walk.

Sfakia is the proud mountain region of south Chania, famous for its fierce resistance to every occupier of Crete. The White Mountains drop straight into the Libyan Sea here, leaving only small villages like Chora Sfakion, Loutro and Agia Roumeli, some reachable only on foot or by boat. Famous gorges, including Samaria, Imbros and Aradena, cut through the mountains. Try the Sfakian pie, a thin pancake filled with soft cheese and drizzled with honey, in one of the harbour tavernas.

Around Sfakia

Nearest town: Chora Sfakion, about 9 km by road
Nearest airport: Chania airport (CHQ), about 39 km by road

The west of Crete is the island at its most dramatic. Chania has the most beautiful Venetian old town on Crete, wrapped around a harbour with a lighthouse and a domed mosque. In the evening the narrow lanes of Splantzia and the old Jewish quarter fill up with tavernas and small bars. More about Chania