Greece Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
577 metres, to scale.
A slice through Elygias 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.
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.
577m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
11.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
40°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in November. The wettest months are from November to February.
- 16°9°Jan
- 15°9°Feb
- 16°10°Mar
- 18°11°Apr
- 20°14°May
- 24°18°Jun
- 27°20°Jul
- 28°21°Aug
- 26°20°Sep
- 23°17°Oct
- 20°14°Nov
- 17°11°Dec
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 Crete, Greece
Elygias Gorge is a canyon in Greece. The relief model measures 577 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 974 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Chóra Sfakíonnearest town · 14 km in a straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.8 km from the floor
- Chania International Airport (CHQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 35 km in a straight lineCar hire at CHQ airport (Souda)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in 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.
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.
- 7viewpoints within 5 km
- 14marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete, Agios Ioannis-Sellouda-Agios Pavlos, Agios Ioannis-Kormokopos Cave and 11 more
- 11footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmSamaria gorge, Stavrodakis, Φαράγγι Σαμαριάς and 8 more
- 3caves within 3 km
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmCamping Agia Roumeli and 6 more
- 31hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmΜΑΝΟΣ, Πάχνες, ΚΑΣΤΡΟ and 28 more
- 24restaurants 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
- 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
- Chóra Sfakíon14 km in a straight line
- Vrýses24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Elygias 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.
Peakyas37 mountains within 15 km
Coastya1 beaches within 15 kmFigures 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 17 |
| Afternoon · rim | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 |
| Night · rim | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 79 | 43 | 26 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 51 | 73 | 96 |
| Rainy days | 15 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 15 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.3 | 5.2 | 7.2 | 9.1 | 10.6 | 12.5 | 12.7 | 11.7 | 9.7 | 7.3 | 5.2 | 3.9 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | 9 | 8 | 85 | 4.3 |
| Feb | 15 | 9 | 7 | 79 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 16 | 10 | 8 | 43 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 18 | 11 | 10 | 26 | 9.1 |
| May | 20 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 10.6 |
| Jun | 24 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 12.5 |
| Jul | 27 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 12.7 |
| Aug | 28 | 21 | 19 | 4 | 11.7 |
| Sep | 26 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 9.7 |
| Oct | 23 | 17 | 15 | 51 | 7.3 |
| Nov | 20 | 14 | 12 | 73 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 17 | 11 | 9 | 96 | 3.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (0 m) and the rim (974 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 51% | 39% | 157% | 116% | 25% | — | — | — | 62% | 74% | 135% | 51% |
| 2021 | 63% | 36% | 71% | 177% | 13% | — | — | — | 50% | 159% | 92% | 103% |
| 2022 | 151% | 36% | 121% | 16% | 48% | — | — | — | 146% | 73% | 82% | 17% |
| 2023 | 87% | 28% | 59% | 74% | 208% | — | — | — | 316% | 13% | 22% | 34% |
| 2024 | 91% | 34% | 45% | 19% | 88% | — | — | — | 53% | 12% | 41% | 72% |
| 2025 | 42% | 30% | 63% | 109% | 50% | — | — | — | 28% | 50% | 45% | 59% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Elygias Gorge
Greece
- 577 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 40°Steepest wall
Samariá Gorge National Park
Greece · 4 km
- 964 mDepth
- 5.1 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 56°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q12885724) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, 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
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