After a summer of weather-related closures and arguments over who decides when the gorge opens, OFYPEKA is asking the Chania Regional Unit to take responsibility for visitor operations and safety decisions.
If you have ever planned a day around hiking the Samaria Gorge, you already know the ritual: check the weather, check the gorge, check again, and then discover that the gorge may or may not be open.
That uncertainty became particularly contentious during the 2026 season, with repeated weather-related closures prompting complaints from residents, local businesses and others whose livelihoods depend on visitors reaching the gorge. The gorge has, in fact, been closed on several occasions this year when forecast rainfall exceeded the safety thresholds approved for its operation.
Now OFYPEKA is proposing a fairly fundamental change before next year’s season: the Chania Regional Unit should take over responsibility for running the gorge as a visitor attraction, including visitor management, ticketing and operational matters, while OFYPEKA retains responsibility for environmental protection.
In other words, perhaps everyone could finally know who is supposed to press the big OPEN button.
So Who Is Responsible for What?
This is where things have become complicated.
OFYPEKA says its statutory role at Samaria concerns environmental protection. According to the organization, civil protection and decisions on suspending or resuming operations for visitor safety fall to the competent civil-protection authorities, including the Region.
OFYPEKA is therefore asking the Chania Regional Unit to formally approve the Emergency Response Plan for natural hazards at the gorge before the 2027 season begins.
It also wants the Region to take responsibility for decisions to open, close, and reopen the gorge when visitor safety and civil protection are involved, based on OFYPEKA’s recommendations.
That distinction matters because the gorge is not simply a hiking trail. It is a heavily visited protected area where falling rocks, rainfall, flash flooding and other natural hazards can change conditions quickly.
More than 64,000 people had already visited the National Park by late August this year.
A Plan Has Been Waiting Since 2025
According to OFYPEKA’s latest position, the emergency plan has been pending since April 2025.
The organization says the municipalities of Sfakia and Platanias have already accepted the plan, but that it has not yet received full approval from the relevant civil-protection authorities and the Chania Regional Vice-Governor.
An outstanding programmatic agreement on rockfall risk reduction also remains.
OFYPEKA says the agreement remains unsigned and asks the Region either to sign it or, if changes are necessary, to specify in writing what additional studies are required and which body should provide technical support and supervision.
OFYPEKA says it is prepared to cover the cost of the necessary additional studies.
And Then There Is the Issue With the Tickets
OFYPEKA’s proposal goes beyond emergency closures.
The organization is also suggesting that the Chania Regional Unit take over the gorge’s visitor-facing operation, including visitor management, ticketing and other operational matters.
Under the proposed arrangement, OFYPEKA would continue doing what it is legally responsible for: protecting the natural environment. Ticket revenue would instead go to the Regional Unit or another body the Region designates.
OFYPEKA points to other Cretan gorges as examples of different management arrangements. Kourtaliotiko operates under the Municipality of Agios Vasilios, while Aradena and Imbros operate under the Municipality of Sfakia, in cooperation with OFYPEKA.
The Real Test Is 2027
This year’s argument largely focused on individual closure decisions. The more useful question now is whether the authorities can establish a clear, agreed system before the next tourist season starts.
Because from a visitor’s point of view, the administrative map is irrelevant.
A hiker traveling from Chania, a couple who have booked a boat from Agia Roumeli, a tour operator with a bus full of visitors, or a hotel guest who has been planning the hike for weeks all need the same basic information:
Is Samaria open, who decides when it closes, what conditions trigger a closure, and where do we check before setting off?
OFYPEKA has now put a proposal on the table. The regional authorities have the next move.
And honestly, one can only hope that by May 2027 everyone will know who’s holding the keys to the gorge. 😏
