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Every tourist visiting Crete is soon going to hear about Samaria Gorge. This is the longest gorge in Europe, its length being 18 km and is descending from Omalos Plateau at 1200m high, all the way down to sea-level to Agia Roumeli village.
The village of Samaria is the main resting place for most walkers, with shade, benches, water, a guard post and (generally) a doctor in attendance.
The village of Samaria was inhabited until 1962, at which point the National Park was created and people where forced to leave. It had been inhabited for thousands of years by wood-loggers (there are some remains of sawmills in the gorge) and was also a place where the partisans fighting the Turkish invaders could retreat. During the winter Agia Roumeli is not accessible through the gorge because there is far too much water in the river. There was only a difficult mountain path leading from Samaria to the sea. So when you sit in the (probably crowded) village of Samaria, have a thought for what life must have been for these people.
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