Pourianos Stavros

Start at the Brani car park at the end of the asphalt in Makrinitsa (about 620 m). A cobbled path (kalderimi) climbs between houses and past two fountains to a narrow dirt road and the old Agia Paraskevi monastery, the last reliable water. Dirt-road sections alternate with path and kalderimi through dense chestnut forest to Trano Isoma, where the route meets the main dirt road from Makrinitsa; turn right and follow it north-east past apple orchards and a 1938 plaque marking the Flambouro irrigation ditch. Follow the ditch into beech forest on a red-marked path, cross a stream and walk about 400 m up the wide bed of the Kaliakouda stream to Flambouro spring, then climb a rocky slope to a ridge viewpoint looking over Kotroni (1,550 m), Aidonaki and Pliasidi. An abandoned road and a wider earth road lead to the asphalt road from Hania that serves the radars. The summit of Pourianos Stavros has been a restricted air-force installation since radars were built in the late 1960s: stay on the dirt road that runs round the perimeter (about 1,590 m) and do not enter the fenced area or photograph the installations. The usual way down is the circular route described by local walking guides: turn left (west) on the perimeter dirt road to the Western Refuge (Dytiko Katafygio, about 1,390 m, an unstaffed emergency shelter that is always open), take the path down to the Karya stone bridge and Trano Isoma, and return to Makrinitsa via Profitis Ilias with views over the Pagasetic Gulf (about 21 km and 8–9 hours in total). Alternatively, traverse north-east down the Kseforti ridge via Agia Marina to Pouri (490 m; 17.2 km and about 5 hours 50 minutes walking time from Makrinitsa). Paths in the beech forest are often blocked by fallen trees and can be hard to follow under deep leaf litter; route-finding needs care.