Schluchten

Portela Gorge

Viannos, Heraklion

About

A wild gorge for canyoning near Keratokampos.

Portela gorge lies in the south-east of Heraklion, cutting through the Dikti mountains down to the area of Keratokambos on the Libyan Sea. It is about 4.6 km long, with steep walls and several dry waterfalls.

It is mostly used for canyoning, with abseils that require ropes and experience, so most people go with a local canyoning club or a guide. In spring there can be water in the gorge, while in summer it is dry. The landscape around is wild, with carob and olive trees.

Afterwards, head down to the beach at Keratokambos for a swim and fresh fish at one of the tavernas.

Viannos is the south-east corner of Heraklion, on the slopes of Mount Dikti above the Libyan Sea. The area is green, with olive groves, chestnut trees and banana greenhouses in warm valleys such as Arvi. The coast has quiet villages and beaches like Keratokambos, Tertsa and Psari Forada, far from mass tourism. In 1943 the villages of Viannos suffered one of the worst massacres of the German occupation, remembered at a memorial near Amiras.

Highlights & amenities

Entry: Free

Around Viannos

Heraklion is the heart of Minoan Crete and the island’s busiest region. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are the two places almost everyone visits, and they work well together on one day. In the south, the wide Messara plain holds the palace of Phaistos, the Roman ruins of Gortyna and the famous caves above the bay of Matala. More about Heraklion