Omalos

The famous plateau of Omalos is surrounded by the high peaks of the White Mountains and is 38 km away from Chania. At Omalos we find three of the five districts of the county, the provinces Cydonia, Sfakia and Selino.

From the plain of Cydonia, there is one of the three entrances to the plateau, at Nerantzoporta at altitude 1,087 meters. The second entrance is the Samaria Gorge and the third is located on the southwest side of the plateau, from where a road to Sougia starts.

The plateau is surrounded by the following peaks of the White Mountains: Volakias (2,216 m), Gkigkilios which is in front of Xyloskalo (2,081 m), Samberos on the west side of the gorge of Samaria (2,005 m) and Psilafi (1,984 m).

The ground is very bumpy and during the winter months, the access by the road is often impossible because of the snow.

From the spring onwards however, the landscape changes completely as gets covered by wild plants and turns into an ideal place for hiking. For visitors, there are taverns and hotels, some of which operate even in the winter.