Plants:
Where vast forests of cypress and cedar once stretched out, bare karst rock is now exposed, dotted with an endless sea of silvery-green olive trees. In between, the landscape is overgrown with maquis, knee-high phrygana and countless fragrant herbs. Metre-high agaves, wild carob trees, lush vineyards and oleanders provide striking contrasts.

Despite the extreme dryness during the summer months, over 1,500 different plant species are still native to the island today. This makes Crete one of the most vegetated islands in the Mediterranean.

Nature is at its most beautiful, particularly in late March and April. The vast pastures and karst landscapes are then nothing but seas of flowers. White and yellow daisies, bright red poppies and white daffodils form huge fields of flowers that sway in the wind, all accompanied by the vibrant buzzing of busy insects. If the winter has been wet, everything grows twice as well. Crete in spring and Crete in summer – two completely different faces.

Wildlife: The
island’s most famous species is the Cretan wild goat, the ibex or agrimi (scientific name: Capra aegagrus creticus), also mistakenly known as the kri-kri (the latter was a small wild goat raised by a shepherd). It was long threatened with extinction, and even today there are said to be only a few hundred of them – they live in the wild mainly on the inaccessible rocky slopes around the Samaria Gorge. You hardly ever catch a glimpse of them – they only sometimes venture down in the afternoons. Hunting them is strictly forbidden. Another threat to the breed’s survival is said to be interbreeding with domestic goats, which occurs from time to time. Otherwise, the most you’re likely to come across are small animals such as hares and rabbits – apart from the countless cats, dogs, sheep and donkeys.