Botanical Park of Crete

In 2003 a fire burned the olive groves on this slope in the foothills of the White Mountains, and the family that owned the land replanted it as a botanical park instead, using the range of microclimates between the top of the hill and the valley floor to grow species that would not normally share a site. The result is a descending path of about two and a half kilometres through sections of citrus, avocado, mango, banana, guava, chestnut, medicinal herbs, Cretan aromatics and ornamentals, with animals in enclosures along the way and views of Lefka Ori above. At the bottom a restaurant serves Cretan dishes using produce from the park. The walk is downhill throughout, with a shuttle back up on request.

What you actually see

• The fruit terraces - tropical and Mediterranean species by microclimate.
• The herb sections - Cretan medicinal and aromatic plants labelled.
• The valley restaurant - Cretan cooking with park-grown produce.
• The White Mountains view - Lefka Ori rising behind the site.

When to go

Spring for blossom and green, autumn for ripening fruit; summer is hot on the open sections despite shade in places. Different species fruit at different times, so no single month shows everything.

Honest expectations

The route is a continuous descent on a stone path with steps, and the climb back up is real work if you skip the shuttle. Labelling is patchy in places. The animal enclosures are modest and not a zoo.

Nearby

Chania old town is twenty minutes away; the Omalos plateau and Samaria gorge road pass just above.