Symi – Paradise Balcony

Walking on one of the most beautiful paths of eastern Crete, through black pine forests. The course starts on a dirt road just above the settlement of Kato Symi from where there is a wooden kiosk next to the asphalt, at the northern edge of the settlement.

The first 800m are on the road and then turning right we proceed on a well-formed uphill path, which ends after 1 hour of walking at a steep point at 1,170m, called “Koutelo tou Paradisou”.

It is considered, together with the Koutelo of Selouda and Papa Kefala in Sfakia Region (SouthWest Crete), one of the most beautiful natural balconies of Crete. The view on the southern coast and the South Cretan sea is unique. In fact, there is also an observation point with a canopy, which was unfortunately destroyed by last year’s bad weather.

The trail after the “Balcony”:

A little further from the observation point (100m) we see the beginning of a dirt road in a northerly direction which meanders through the pines at first and then we enter a pine-covered area again. Slowly we gain altitude again, meet an intersection after 1 km and continue to the left, always on an uphill route. After 1200m we pass to a point where on our left we notice a strange but particularly impressive formation of rocks that have the shape of a funnel and it is clear that we are dealing with a crater with a diameter of 650-700m and a depth of a little more than 200m!

In another 1000m of walking we meet the central Symi – Omalo dirt road and we are already at an altitude of 1330m. From here to the Omalo plateau it is about 3-4 km of easy walking on the road.