C messier · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
20 metres, to scale.
A slice through Orino 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: a person · 1.8 m · a two-storey house · 9.0 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
20m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
20.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
14°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
0m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In August the afternoon reaches 30 °C. The best months to hike are from April to May and from October to November. The wettest months are from November to February.
- 15°14°Jan
- 15°14°Feb
- 17°16°Mar
- 19°19°Apr
- 24°23°May
- 28°27°Jun
- 30°29°Jul
- 30°30°Aug
- 28°27°Sep
- 24°23°Oct
- 20°20°Nov
- 17°16°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 Greece
Orino Gorge is a canyon in Greece. The relief model measures 20 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 128 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 20 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Makry-Gialosnearest town · 3.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,960 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.5 km from the floor
- Sitia Airport (JSH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 24 km in a straight lineCar hire at JSH airport (Crete Island)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.
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.
- 6viewpoints within 5 kmBigla Gras and 5 more
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 2rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmPeristeriona Waterfalls
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 9bus stops within 2 km
- 33hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmWhite River Cottages, Eden Rock Hotel, Mikri Poli and 30 more
- 20restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- campsites within 8 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
- Makry-Gialos3.5 km in a straight line
- Kentrí17 km in a straight line
- Ierápetra18 km in a straight line
- Kaló Chorió20 km in a straight line
- Gra Liyiá22 km in a straight line
- Sitia24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Orino 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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 17 |
| Afternoon · rim | 14 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 16 |
| Night · rim | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 14 |
| Rain (mm) | 88 | 74 | 41 | 28 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 48 | 58 | 90 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.1 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 8.6 | 10.3 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 3.7 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | 14 | 12 | 88 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 15 | 14 | 12 | 74 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 17 | 16 | 13 | 41 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 19 | 19 | 14 | 28 | 8.6 |
| May | 24 | 23 | 18 | 18 | 10.3 |
| Jun | 28 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 12.2 |
| Jul | 30 | 29 | 24 | 2 | 12.2 |
| Aug | 30 | 30 | 24 | 4 | 11.1 |
| Sep | 28 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 9.4 |
| Oct | 24 | 23 | 20 | 48 | 7.1 |
| Nov | 20 | 20 | 17 | 58 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 17 | 16 | 14 | 90 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (0 m) and the rim (128 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.


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 | 103% | 63% | 121% | 96% | 59% | 222% | — | — | 149% | 131% | 188% | 66% |
| 2021 | 67% | 116% | 124% | 208% | 69% | 139% | — | — | 60% | 132% | 67% | 137% |
| 2022 | 110% | 110% | 252% | 46% | 52% | 111% | — | — | 117% | 109% | 73% | 31% |
| 2023 | 52% | 66% | 93% | 89% | 227% | 750% | — | — | 95% | 21% | 57% | 76% |
| 2024 | 102% | 61% | 40% | 25% | 119% | 17% | — | — | 106% | 12% | 45% | 177% |
| 2025 | 53% | 94% | 122% | 129% | 168% | 22% | — | — | 26% | 55% | 96% | 99% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3557483) · 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
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.



