Trail E4 Elafonisi - Paleochora
From the exotic lagoon of Lafonissi with its turquoise watercolors and the white sand, located 4.5km south of Chrysoskalitissa, starts the coastal trail to Paleochora, which is part of the European trail E4 and offers some of the best seascapes in Crete. The trail runs mostly on the seaside, therefore it can be combined with some refreshing dips on the way.
We can start our day with a morning bath in the lagoon of Lafonissi and then walk eastwards, on the seaside. We first cross the small harbor where the boats from Paleochora stop and soon we reach the amazing beach of Kedrodasos, named after the junipers (cedars) of the area, very popular to free campers. We continue our course along the coast and meet several signs of the E4 trail (yellow and black).
After a 1:30-hour course from Elafonissi, we cross the remote beach of Pahia Ammoutsa and have constant views of the chapel of Saint John (Agios Ioannis), which we try to reach. We now ascend a few meters above sea level and reach the chapel., where we can make a stop for shooting photos of the bay of Kedrodasos and Elafonissi lagoon.
After a short stop, we walk along the trail amid the rocky terrain of the Krios peninsula and soon meet the circular rocky bay of Viena, which hosted a Roman sanctuary. We still see some parts of ancient pillars on the beach. We keep walking to the east and soon meet the dirt road that leads to the long beach of Krios and the greenhouses of Koundoura. We now follow the asphalt road to Paleochora which runs in the side of many amazing coves, where we can enjoy our bath, before reaching the small town of Paleochora.
*The photos below depict the same trail but the hikers walk in the opposite direction, i.e. from Paliochora to Elafonissi.
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