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Saint Irene gorge Crete a

Greece Greece Canyon

Agia Eirini Gorge

849 m from rim to floor.

See the cutWhen to go

Γιώργος σιγά μην πω... · CC BY-SA 2.0

The cut

849 metres, to scale.

A slice through Agia Eirini Gorge where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

915 m1,183 m849 m11 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 1.1915 m1,183 m849 m11 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 2.2

Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.

849m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

10.7km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

32°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

66m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

7 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 23 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and from October to November. The wettest months are from November to February.

rim · 1,183 mfloor · 66 m
  1. 14°7°Jan
  2. 14°7°Feb
  3. 16°9°Mar
  4. 19°12°Apr
  5. 23°16°May
  6. 27°20°Jun
  7. 30°23°Jul
  8. 30°23°Aug
  9. 27°20°Sep
  10. 24°16°Oct
  11. 20°12°Nov
  12. 16°9°Dec
Hike: Apr–May, Oct–NovWettest: Nov–Feb

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Canyon in Greece

Agia Eirini Gorge is a canyon in Greece. The relief model measures 849 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,117 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 11 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Palaióchoranearest town · 16 km in a straight line
  • Parking 1,080 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 4.6 km from the floor
  • Chania International Airport (CHQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 39 km in a straight lineCar hire at CHQ airport (Souda)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From April to May and from October to Novemberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Agia Eirini Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 1viewpoints within 5 km
  • 6marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete, Koustogerako - Polyphimos cave - Sougia, Archaeological route of Kantanos-Selino - Day 2 and 3 more
  • 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmΦαράγγι Αγίας Ειρήνης
  • 2car parks within 3 km
  • 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 4campsites within 8 kmΆγρια κατασκήνωση, Sougia and 2 more
  • 28hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSanta Irene, Pension Irene, ΙΑΚΟΒΟΣ and 25 more
  • 7restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • bus stops within 2 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Palaióchora16 km in a straight line
  • Geráni24 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Agia Eirini Gorge.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Peakyas16 mountains within 15 km
Kato Sykotrypa · 2.0 kmToumpa · 5.8 kmProfitis Ilias Tripitis · 5.9 kmVardies · 6.8 kmApopigadi · 7.3 kmTourli · 8.2 kmVolakias · 10 kmBourbadokefala767 m · 14 km
Coastya2 beaches within 15 km
Órmos Agíou Kírykossea up to 25 °C · 4.9 kmParalia Ayías Roúmelissea up to 25 °C · 14 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor141416192327303027242016
Afternoon · rim77912162023232016129
Night · rim445610141717151295
Rain (mm)9890522717435215783103
Rainy days161411641125101316
Sun hours/day4.35.17.29.110.612.512.711.79.77.35.23.9
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan1474984.3
Feb1474905.1
Mar1695527.2
Apr19126279.1
May2316101710.6
Jun272014412.5
Jul302317312.7
Aug302317511.7
Sep272015219.7
Oct241612577.3
Nov20129835.2
Dec16951033.9

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (66 m) and the rim (1,183 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Agia Eirini Gorge (4)
Przemek Pietrak · CC BY-SA 3.0
Agia Eirini Gorge (file 3)
Przemek Pietrak · CC BY-SA 3.0
Felsiges Schluchtbett
Rudolphu · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202056%32%122%97%39%——124%97%112%63%58%
202176%24%79%145%41%——136%51%132%46%90%
202296%39%144%39%37%——322%96%62%75%28%
202371%30%70%73%180%——56%200%26%38%41%
202470%44%42%33%62%——86%72%11%55%99%
202557%43%47%148%121%——50%42%91%59%76%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Agia Eirini Gorge

Greece

  • 849 mDepth
  • 11 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 32°Steepest wall

Samariá Gorge National Park

Greece · 14 km

  • 964 mDepth
  • 5.1 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 56°Steepest wall

See the guide

Tripiti Canyon

Greece · 8 km

  • 127 mDepth
  • 15 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 23°Steepest wall

See the guide

Imbros Gorge

Greece · 32 km

  • 422 mDepth
  • 10 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 37°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q2131255) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here