Voluminous Vultures: Birdwatching in Crete

One of the most fun things I did in Crete was go on a guided hike through the Platania Gorge. This spectacular gorge has a lot to love about it, but there’s one thing in particular that sets it apart from the rest of Crete’s spectacular landscape, Griffon Vultures. These spectacular birds are some of the highest-flying birds in the world. The wingspans on these things are massive, ranging between 5.3 and 9.2 feet in width. So, clearly, being the bird enthusiast I am, I had to take a hike to go see them. When I first heard that I could see these amazing birds here, my Dad helped to book me a tour. The company we chose was Staori Ecotourism Experiences, and I personally recommend you go on a tour with them as well. The tours are run by Haris and Eleni, who are both very nice and quite knowledgeable about the area, and there is no better way to go looking for Griffon Vultures. They take you on a tour of the Amari Valley, one of the most picturesque places in Crete, with lush, rolling green hills that seem to stretch on and on until they hit one of the island’s mountains or slope down into the rocky areas closer to the azure-blue waters of the island’s many beaches. If you would like to book a tour, click here.

If you choose to go on the tour, they will likely take you to the start of a trail that leads up into one of the more mountainous areas, through jagged cliffs of orange and yellow rock. Once you reach a certain point (which the guides will point out), you will be able to start seeing the vultures. I showed up there relatively early, and I got to watch in awe as close to twenty massive vultures took off from the outcropping and began to circle slowly around our position. It was incredible, watching as these birds, which had a wingspan larger than I am tall, floated gracefully on the wind like they weighed nothing more than a sheet of paper. It seemed almost effortless, too, and their slow, elegant, whirling flight paths traced a series of expanding circles in the sky around me. Then, I started to notice some of the late risers, tucked into convenient cubbies in the rock face. I also noticed the chicks, just waking up and walking out to the edges of their nest caves (which functioned very similarly to apartments) to get a look at the world around them. It was so cute to watch the adorable vulture babies climb over onto the rocks and stick their curious beaks out at the world. Granted, they probably had none of this in mind and just wanted breakfast, but I still think the way they poked their heads out of the nest was adorable. To their credit, though, the scenery on the hike was wonderful, too, so they had good taste. There were beautiful, giant orange cliffs stretching over verdant green valleys, and bent olive trees hanging over the trail. The trail was rather difficult and surprisingly steep in places, but the combination of amazing views and beautiful vultures made it quite worth it. Also, I may just be out of shape, since the old ladies in this area come up this trail quite often during olive season to harvest olives from the trees here.

After negotiating the rather steep downslope, when we got back from the hike, the guides offered us a sampler of homemade cheese and fresh apricots from their yard. The cheese was quite good, but the apricots really stood out. They were perhaps some of the most flavorful apricots I have ever had! I am very picky with my stone fruit, and these sure met my standards! After the apricots (which I probably ate too many of), we drove up Mount Psiloritis (more commonly known as Mount Ida) to look for bearded vultures. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any. But the mountain was beautiful, and the view over the valley was exceptional. Overall, I very much enjoyed our tour, and I think it was a great way to explore the wonders of Crete and get in some good birdwatching while you are at it!