Psichro forest

A beautiful route through the pine forest of Psichro, Agios Ioannis about 20 km east of Ierapetra. Almost all of the path we take is through forest roads with the forest being a bit sparse and most of it being dense. Our hike begins just before the church of Agios Georgios Psichrou, at an altitude of 460 meters. First we go north-northeast until we meet the dirt road on the west side of the ravine. Walking constantly on a dirt road we go on a circular path to reach the highest point of the route, at about 800m altitude.

From this natural “balcony” we can see Schinocapsala area to the east and we can also see the bay in Goudoura in the distance , the imposing ridge of Thripti in the north. We overlook the endless Libyan Sea with Chrissi and Koufonissi islands to the south.

From this point we descend into the Pinus brutia pine forest, choosing the best dirt road to reach the asphalted road, 1000m southeast of the starting point, ie the area of Psichro.

Many waters flow in this area for years feeding the main river that used to run many watermills, one of which can be seen at the start / end point. This is how the name of the ravine is deprived (Psichro means cold). Its course goes down to the sea and ends at the seaside in the area of Kakia Skala with a beautiful beach just before Ferma.

The whole route is 8 km with a degree of difficulty “easy” and takes about 3 hours to complete.