April 25th - May 2nd, 2012

Western Crete

in conjunction with Plantlife

Price: £1395 inc. flights

Leaders: Bob Gibbons

Crete is one of the largest and most beautiful of Mediterranean islands, with an astonishingly rich flora and a wealth of birds and other animal life. This week concentrates on some of the most exciting places to see this diversity, in the gorges and mountains of Western Crete, where many of the endemic specialities occur amongst spectacular scenery.

Mass of Italian Orchids (Orchis italica), few-flowered orchids etc. in a sward, high in the Kedros Mountains, central Crete.

We leave Gatwick in the morning to arrive in Chania by about lunchtime, and transfer to our hotel at Almirida Bay, about 10 miles east of Chania, which is our base for most of the week. From here, we will make a series of sorties to flowery local sites such as the Akrotiri peninsula and its attractive monasteries, the Imbros gorge, the Kedros mountains, and coastal dunes and wetlands near Georgiopoulos, as well as local walks direct from the hotel. On the 5th day, we transfer to a hotel up on the Omalos plateau, in the White Mountains, for two nights, giving us ample opportunity to explore the Omalos plateau and its surrounding mountains. On the 7th day, we plan to walk down the Samaria Gorge (if it is open) to the coast, then take a boat to Chora Sfakion, and transfer back to our original hotel at Almirida. The walk is not difficult, though it is about 9 miles, so anyone who prefers not to walk it can transfer directly to Almirida. In any event, we all spend the last night at Almirida (our luggage will be transferred directly), and fly back from Chania on day 8.

Crown Anemones (Anemone coronaria) on the Omalos Plateau, White Mountains, Crete

Crete has changed dramatically in the last two decades, and many of its olive groves, garrigue and coastal sites have been built on, or agriculturally improved. By going into the mountains and gorges, we can reach the unspoilt sites where the flora and fauna is still superb. In the mountains, we can expect to see endemic chionodoxas (or scillas), crocuses, tulips, corydalis, sainfoins and the gorgeous intense blue Anchusa caespitosa as well as mats of Prunus prostrata covered with pink flowers, and the incredible ancient cypresses, thought to be thousands of years old, amongst many other things. There are choughs, lammergeiers, alpine accentors, crag martins and occasional golden eagles, and a good chance of seeing the endemic kri-kri or Cretan wild goat.

A field full of a rare endemic cretan tulip, Doerfler's Tulip, Tulipa doerfleri, Kedros Mts, Crete.

The gorges should be superb at this time of year, with, amongst other things, an endemic paeony, cretan rock-lettuce, mulleins, cretan ebony, the endemic dittany, golden drop, cyclamen, bellflowers, Procopiania cretica, and orchids such as few-flowered and the striking Ophrys episcopalis. There are butterflies, balkan green lizards, blue rock-thrushes, griffon vultures, dippers, ravens, and plenty more. The gorges are best seen at this time of year, a little later than the more open lowland sites, as they remain humid and sheltered from the hot sun. When we visit the Kedros mountains, we should see twenty or more species of orchids and two species of tulips, amongst other things, depending on the season.

A very dwarf high-altitude plum, Prunus prostratus, in the White Mountains of Crete

Over the week, we can expect to see hundreds of species of flowers, including widespread mediterranean species, eastern european species, and Cretan endemics, as well as a good range of other forms of life, from lammergeiers to tree frogs and dragonflies.

The tour price includes return flights, accommodation on a bed & breakfast basis at Almirida, and full board at Omalos (2 nights), all with en suite facilities; all transport on the island, services of leaders throughout, and pre-tour information and post-tour lists. ∆ tour grade.

Tour code: NHT/12/01

Price: £1395

Single room supplement: £130

Deposit: £300 plus insurance

Bookings to Sunvil

It is possible to combine this week with the following mainland Greece tour, at a combined price of £ 2495, single supplement £ 265. Tour code: NHT/12/03. Deposit: £ 400 plus insurance.