In fact, the 2 to 3-hour scenic walk around the botanical park and gardens is ideal for relaxation and sightseeing, as the visitor walks through a luxurious collection of the flora and fauna of Crete, also providing the perfect getaway from the busy cities and fashionable beaches.
The Botanical Gardens can be easily reached by bus from the Cretan centre of Chania (where we were staying) and the average trip to the gardens takes around 30 mins. The dedicated bus trips to the gardens allow time for a walk around the gardens followed by lunch, before returning to the city centre.
On arrival, you are provided with a map, and with the route around the gardens and park clearly marked. Alternatively, you can rent a car or if you prefer a guided tour, multiple tours are also offered to this unique destination in Crete.
The path takes you through gardens of flowers, fruit trees, herbs, and pharmaceutical plants, and with appropriate signposts along the way, allowing you the discover more about the nature of Crete and the surrounding Mediterranean region.
Along the trail, the park also offers a lake, which can be used as a resting point, and where you can admire the geese and the impressive peacocks fanning out their tail feathers. The park is also home to other animals including donkeys, deer, and the famous wild goat species Kri-Kri, which are an unexpected but welcoming surprise to many.
The gardens are in themselves an ode to nature, and a subtle reminder of what is at stake if we don’t give our environment the attention it needs:
‘If we only take from nature without returning anything back, we create voids which are harmful to earth and consequently to us…If there is not health on earth, then we also die…’
Further information regarding the botanical garden including opening times & pricing, as well as location and bus routes (which can vary) can be found in the links below:
On a final note, the walk through the park can take from 1 to 2 hours, or even more depending on your pace, and how long you intend to stay at the gardens.
For those who avoid walking trips, this is generally considered an easy trek, and the park also reminds us gently that walking is good for us for all of the below reasons, encouraging passer-bys.
Walking is very good for you. It improves your general health. It strengthens the heart and lungs. It boosts the immune system. It increases your energy levels… It works out all the muscles. It controls diabetes.
We finished our stay at the botanical gardens at the restaurant, which was full of people at the end of April. Then we just laid-back sipping our coffees, chatting about anything under the sun and falling in love with the panorama of the gardens and the white mountains; to then have our attention attracted by a hawk soaring high up in the sky, and then plunging like a dart into the vegetation below.
© 2026 Mario & Melissa Saliba
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