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Agia Irini Gorge

Kantanos-Selino, Chania · Free

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

About

A green 7.5 km gorge ending near Sougia.

The Agia Irini gorge lies in the Selino region of south-west Chania. It is about 7.5 km long and runs from the village of Agia Irini down towards Sougia. It's one of the most popular gorges in Crete after Samaria.

The walk takes about 3 hours and is mostly shaded by pine, cypress and plane trees. The path is easier than Samaria, with no steep descent. Along the way you pass caves where rebels hid during the Turkish occupation and WWII.

From the end of the gorge, it's a short walk or taxi ride to Sougia for a swim and lunch.

Kantanos-Selino is the remote south-west corner of Crete, a land of chestnut forests, gorges and small villages with Byzantine churches painted with frescoes. Paleochora is the main town, with a beach on each side of its little peninsula, and Sougia is a laid-back village at the end of a winding road. Walking is wonderful here: the E4 path follows the coast, and gorges like Agia Irini and Anydri lead down to the Libyan Sea. Boats connect the south coast villages in summer.

Around Kantanos-Selino

Nearest town: Sougia, about 12 km by road
Nearest airport: Chania airport (CHQ), about 47 km by road

The west of Crete is the island at its most dramatic. Chania has the most beautiful Venetian old town on Crete, wrapped around a harbour with a lighthouse and a domed mosque. In the evening the narrow lanes of Splantzia and the old Jewish quarter fill up with tavernas and small bars. More about Chania