The reopening of the Samaria Gorge National Park for the 2026 season was announced this week, with full access to resume on Tuesday from both entrances of the gorge.
Authorities said all annual maintenance work on the trail network, infrastructure, communications systems and visitor-safety operations had been completed ahead of the reopening.
For a second consecutive year, the park will operate with a nowcasting weather-alert application designed to warn authorities and visitors of potentially severe weather phenomena up to two hours in advance at critical points inside the gorge. Medical and nursing staff will also be present from the first day of operations.
Under park regulations, visitors are required to respect and protect the natural environment while complying with all operational and safety rules during entry, exit and transit through the national park. Authorities stressed that visitors assume personal responsibility for risks associated with entering the gorge, particularly in the event of sudden or unpredictable natural hazards.
The agency said free protective helmets will again be available at both entrances to the gorge. Although optional, their use is being strongly recommended.
The operation of the gorge may be temporarily suspended under specific weather or environmental conditions, in line with emergency-response protocols approved by the regional authorities of Crete.
The Samaria Gorge, one of Greece’s best-known eco-tourism destinations, attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and is widely regarded as one of Europe’s premier hiking routes. Travel and tourism reporting in recent years has increasingly highlighted both the gorge’s ecological significance and the growing focus on visitor safety following a series of weather-related disruptions and rockfall incidents across Crete’s mountain regions.
