71 Limnakaro – Varsami

The plateau of Limnakaro in eastern Crete at an altitude of 1120 meters is the starting point for this route of the E4 trail that follows upwards from Lassithi Plateau that crosses through the summit of Afendis Christos to reach the spring of Varsami.

The route from Limnakaro to Varsami

Somewhat south of the shepherd’s stone hut (1) which is located at the western side of the plateau of Limnakaro, a cart track continues gently uphill, following the left (eastern) bank of a dry watercourse. After approximately 800 m, the stream that runs along the western side of the plateau joins with another stream, which runs along the foot of its eastern side.

From this point (2), we pass onto the eastern bank of the main stream and follow its course for about 500 m. Next, the markings lead us across the dry watercourse (3); we walk along a low ridge, from where we can gaze at the whole of Limnakaro, to the north. We continue to climb along the right-hand side of the low ridge, between the two streams. After a little while, we bypass a characteristic cut of a rock (4) on our left and walk across the slope, seeing a dry watercourse down below to our right.

At the end of the watercourse bed, we pass onto the right-hand bank and reach a flat rocky area (5), at an altitude of 1.500 m. There, marks leading to the summit of Spathi can be seen on our left (eastwards).

Having left the flat area, we ascend gently along the side of a small hollow. As soon as we have reached the end of the hollow, we come to a low ridge (altitude: 1.550 m) on our right-hand side. We then arrive at a very small, flat bushy area, at an altitude of 1.650 m, approximately 40 minutes from the flat rocky area. From this point on, we continue climbing in a southerly direction, walking along a small hollow. At the end of the hollow, where a steep descent can be seen ahead of us, we turn left (eastwards), walking parallel to the dry bed of a small stream. After another 20 minutes of ascent, we arrive at a saddle (6), 1.780 m high.

From here, we leave the path, taking a due south uphill direction, and after approximately 200 m we reach the Varsami water spring (7), on the western side of the ridge, between a cluster of rocks. Continuing southwards along the mountain line, we reach the summit of Afendis Christos, where a chapel dedicated to Christ is to be found. If we were to continue walking about 3 km from Afendis Christos, in a south-westerly direction, we would end up at the small plateau of Omalos Viannou.