Olive season around Sougia: from green to black
In October the olive groves around Sougia turn from green to purple to black, and the villages get ready for the harvest.
Olive trees cover the hills around Sougia: on the terraces below the mountains, in the gardens of Moni and on the slopes towards Livadas. In the photograph above, the small white houses in the distance are Livadas, a village where three people lived at the 2021 census.
Green, purple, black
In October you can see every stage on a single branch. Olives ripen from green through purple to black, and one tree can carry all three colours at once.
When the harvest begins
On Crete the olive harvest runs from November to January. Nets are spread under the trees, and the olives are shaken or beaten from the branches with long sticks. Machines do much of the work today, but you will still see the nets laid out under the trees.
The first oil
The first pressings, in early November, give αγουρέλαιο, agourelaio: a green, peppery oil from olives that are not yet fully ripe. There is less of it than of the oil pressed later in the season.
Walking among the groves
Most walks from Sougia pass through olive groves, among them the road up to Moni. Every grove belongs to a family, even when it looks wild. Leave the olives on the trees, and walk round the nets during the harvest.
A walk through the old village: Moni: a walk through the old village
Questions walkers ask
When is the olive harvest on Crete?
From November to January. The first pressings in early November give agourelaio, a green, peppery early oil.
What is agourelaio?
Oil from the first olives of the season, pressed in early November before the fruit is fully ripe. It is green and peppery, and there is less of it than of later oil.
Can you pick olives on a walk?
No. Every grove belongs to someone, even when it looks wild. Leave the olives on the trees.
Sources
Last checked October 2026. Times, prices and opening seasons change. Please check before you travel.
