Journal: walks and stories from Sougia17 stories
notes from the edge
Walks, history, the sea and the seasons of Sougia. Written by us, from what we know and what we have checked, for the days before you come and the days you are here.
all stories
Lissos: the walk, the theatre, the boat backOver the headland from Sougia to a healing sanctuary that has been waiting by the sea for two thousand years.
Agia Irini: the gorge that walks you to the seaGreener and quieter than Samaria, it once hid rebels from the Ottomans. Today it ends a short walk above our village.
The Cyclops cave above Sougia: a walk into the OdysseyNolan filmed his Cyclops in the Peloponnese. Crete has its own candidate, two hours’ walk from Koustogerako.
Moni: a walk through the old villageAbove Sougia, among olive groves and stone walls, lies a small village where ruins stand between lived-in houses and the gardens still bear fruit.
Can you visit Sougia without a car?One road over the mountains, a boat along the coast, and a week of walking from the same bed.
When the weather decides: a plan B for SougiaSamaria closed, rain on the way, wind on the beach. A few times a season the weather makes the plan. This is what we would do.
When to come to Sougia: a season by season guideOrchids in April, the gorges in May, warm sea and rainbows in October. Each month has its own Sougia.
Olive season around Sougia: from green to blackIn October the olive groves around Sougia turn from green to purple to black, and the villages get ready for the harvest.
Kri-kri: the wild goat of Crete, at our doorIn August 2026 two young agrimi came to the house in Livadas, above Sougia, where we were living.
Syia, Lissos, Elyros: the old cities under the pebblesBefore it was a quiet village, Sougia was the harbour of the most powerful city in south-west Crete.
Ancient Syia: what is left of the townAcross the river from the village lie the ruins of the Roman town that gave Sougia its name.
Sougia beach: Blue Flag, pebbles and the river mouthMore than a kilometre of grey pebbles below the mountains, clean enough to fly the Blue Flag, with a way into the sea for people who cannot walk over stones.
The Hellenic Trench: the deep water beyond the beachOur name means abyss. Here is the abyss it means.
Things to do in Sougia: walks, sea, old stones and slow eveningsA small village with more to do than it first seems. Everything here starts within walking distance, or one boat ride away.
The E4 from Sougia to Agia Roumeli: the wild coastTwenty kilometres of cliffs, pines and empty beaches, with no road and no village between. One of the hardest stretches of the E4 in Crete.
A day in Paleochora: the castle, two bays and the boat backSougia’s nearest town is 45 minutes away by sea. Go for the Venetian castle and the beaches, stay for a long lunch, and sail home in the afternoon.