Miscellanies
Trailheads: As I see it, the most conducive starting points for tracks through the Levka Ori (White Mountains) are some villages situated on northern foothills of this mountains. These are, mainly (from the west to the east), Omalos or Xyloskalo (on the Omalos Plain), Lakki, Therisso, Kámbi and Ammoudari (on the Askifou Plain). As starting points there may be - of course - also used some villages on the southern coast like Chóra Sfakia, Loutro, Agia Roumeli or Sougia. Due to my laziness, I prefer these on the north because they are already at a certain altitude (usually 500 meters and more; Omalos even at about 1200 m!!) and because one can get usually by bus to them he can gain height in that way very easy. If you start from the sea level on the southern coast you must gain much more height to get at the same places.
Transport: There are on the Crete Island two international airports - Iraklio (or Heraklion) and Chania (or Hania). If you land in Iraklio, it is necessary to take a bus service to move to Chania (about € 15,-, slightly over 2 hrs; in 2017) from where most of the buses towards Levka Ori foothill's villages depart. Of course - it is also possible to go to Rethymno only and to try there taking a bus to Chóra Sfakia (via Askifou Plain) on the southern shore. But Chania offers more possibilities. For finding the best bus connection, it would be the best to have a look at the website of KTEL which is something like a semi-state traffic company: http://bus-service-crete-ktel.com/ Bus connections into foothill's villages are usually twice a day - a morning and an afternoon ones, which service usually like a school bus, too. If you land in Chania you avoid the long shift from Iraklio and you often have enough time then for buying supplies (e.g. cartridges for your gas stove - note, just one type, no revolving but only "spiking" and in two sizes, is usually disposal in every, even in the smallest supermarkets; you have to find details perhaps somewhere on the web). At some time, there could be necessary to travel along the southern coast. For that purposes (if one can't go along the marked coastal E4 route using legs from any reasons) could be suitable to take a ferryboat which connects either Chóra Sfakia with Sougia, or Sougia with Palaiohora. Departures are changing during seasons and the best could be to have a look at the website of the company which provides these connections http://www.sfakia-crete.com/sfakia-crete/ferries.html#3
Accommodation, sleeping: If you need to rent a room, or rather - more generally - to arrange a sleeping in a bed with a roof over your head, there are usually more possibilities anywhere, often informal, even in the smallest villages. To ask in a tavern or in a supermarket can be useful and successful. In the case of very late arrival (by plane) to Chania or very early departure from Chania (in these cases there is no bus connection to/from airport, only taxi which could be unreliable), it is advantageous (and cheapest :-) ) to spend a night straight into the airport hall: it is open 24 hrs a day, most of the aircrafts usually take off or land before midnight and the earliest ones take off/land than about 4 o'clock, so, around the midnight there used to be quite calm for a couple of hours. Or - there is also a possibility (which I prefer) to sleep on the beach; the best couldd be the beach Nea Chóra, about 20 minutes of walking from the main bus station.
Sleeping outside anywhere is generally not permitted according to low, but there is nobody who would check it except policemen on town beaches or/and in densely inhabited areas. Thus, bivouacking anywhere in mountains is not problematic as well as sleeping in some informal campsites on the southern coast like in the small pine forest beside Agia Roumeli or on - eastward last houses of the village most remote part - the local beach in Sougia; speak nothing about remote beaches accessible by foot or by a boat only.
Water: The question of water is the most important thing in the mountains because Levka Ori is, in fact, almost a mountain's desert roughly from summer months to the end of October. How many water is in cisterns, reservoirs and water tanks or how rich are springs - it depends on the snow layer during winter and mainly how long time this snow survives on slopes. One has also to keep in mind that the water sources drawn on ANAVASI maps don't work, or better - work from time to time only, differing from year to year. There are only several water sources which could be considered to be almost reliable. Very known is Linoseli spring under Gigilos crags above Xyloskalo (there is the entrance to the Samaria Gorge). Next one is Alyakes - the spring not so far above the Therisso village. Also, the spring not so far from Pighadaki mitato, less than 1 hour of walking from the end of the right branch of Therisso shepherd's road, seems to be rich as well as the water source at the end of the left branch of this Therisso road. On the place called Poria (which is partly in sight from the terrace of the Kalerghi Refuge), there used to be water but there are years when the water tank is empty. However, a bit less than one hour of walking downhill the shepherd's road in quite easy gradient from this place, just besides the road on the place where the road crosses a gorge bed there is a flat place with a sheep pen and about two building staying around and there also use to be water here. The good source of water is a well at Potámos - a part of a valley which continues then down southwards to the shore and is known like Eligias Gorge. The next should be water spring under Zaranokefala summit but as I haven't gone through this track, for the time being, I can't say more. (From the time, I have written previous text, I hiked this track and the truth is, the Zaranokefála spring is working year round, except years, in which there is not much snow in winter season, like in year 2016 - the spring was without water in September. Perhaps, last two are both the water reservoir at Rousies - at the saddle under Pachnes (the highest summit of Levka Ori), and water troughs made of concrete at Lívada - one of the most remote places in Levka Ori which are also an intersection of several mountain's trails. I almost have forgotten the well of Kriaras in the gorge of Lagou (above the Anopoli plain), the spring of Skarfídhia (at the end of the left branch of the Anopoli road, working year round), and water sources on or near the Niáto plain (cisterns for water from rain and snow only). There are also water sources at near Angelokampos, the place with ruins of a Turkish fortress above the bottom part of Eligias Gorge, next are at Katsiveli (the second important intersection of routes, there is the Katsiveli Refuge + mitatos) and near Kalerghi Refuge but these two are not reliable because if the water is running through pipes, it depends on shepherds decisions: if they turn the proper tap, water is running into troughs disposal for all, both for people and for animals, too, but if the shepherds are in bad mood, if they had bad night, if they are lazy, no water is in that troughs... that is the life.... :-)) And perhaps the last water source is not so far from the Volika Refuge - this spring is also working year round.
