Kritsa Gorge — Attraction in Municipality of Agios Nikolaos

It's not every day you get to scramble your way through a gorge, but if you're up for it, the Kritsa Gorge is a blast. Forget a leisurely stroll, this hike is an adventure. You'll be climbing over polished boulders, squeezing through tight rock passages, and at a couple of spots, you'll even need to use a rope and a small metal ladder. It's a proper workout, but in the best possible way. The scenery is just incredible. The gorge walls tower over you, so narrow at times you feel like you're in a secret passageway. And the trees and plants that have found a way to grow among the rugged cliffs just add to the whole feeling of being somewhere wild and special. We did the circular route, following the red paint dots on the way in. When we emerged from the gorge, the path back along the old Minoan road gave us these amazing, wide-open views of the Kritsa valley and the olive groves. It was a perfect way to end the loop. A few tips from our trip: Wear good shoes. Seriously, your regular sneakers might not cut it. The rocks are smooth and can be slippery. You need something with a decent grip. Don't forget water! The return path is pretty exposed to the sun, and you'll be working up a sweat. Start early. We went in the morning to beat the worst of the heat, and it was a great call. It also means you'll probably have the gorge mostly to yourself. Give yourself enough time. It took us about 2–3 hours at a relaxed pace, with plenty of stops for photos. All in all, if you're looking for a fun, active day out with a big payoff in terms of views and a real sense of accomplishment, you can't go wrong with Kritsa Gorge. And afterwards, the charming village of Kritsa is the perfect place for a...

A very nice circuit trail, despite lack of water in mid October. Trail is very clean (please take your garbage with you). Some shaded points along the trail are useful to stop for drinking and eating. Length: 4.5km, 1.5hr at an easy pace of 3km/hr. Totally 120m ascent. Start/end point: follow google map for Kristas Gorge, just after the sign of leaving Krista village. (Note that couple of 100's meters away there is a location called Krista Gorge - this is NOT the place.) Signs: well posted trail, with variations of yellow and white signs. Sometimes red and white signs appear, as they are part of neighboring trails. Parking: park your car in the small parking lot that marks the start/end point. The trek: the first 2.4km (80m ascent) of trail goes up the gorge, walking on stones and rocks. Couple of times there are iron rings to assist climbing. If you have experience in such a trail type - it's usually an easy track (incl. kids and babies in carry-on backpack). Trail is shaded at most of the time, even at mid day. At 2.4km point, the gorge continues straight ahead (that's the long path). To return to the starting point, make a right U-turn (also up the hill) on a paved road, to start the second part of the trail (2km, 40m ascent),which is shaded only partially. After about 1km the trail leaves the paved road (which continues left) onto a dirt road. Make sure you DO NOT miss the turn, as a post sign exists but with no explanation. After a few 100's meters there is a viewpont. From there the trail descents until the...

Nice little route. We completed it with a 4 year old on foot and 10 month old on our backs. It was a cool April which made it a lot easier. We debated doing the route as it had rained most of the day before. However it is a dry canyon where water seems to rarely run so we need not of worried, a couple of puddles were all we saw. The second element we carefully considered was our 4 year old. Our conclusion was that yes there was some climbing, but often less exposure than some of the climbing frames they go up. As long as you are moderately competent a close proximity bit of spotting was all that was needed. The 4 year old loved the climbing sections in the end. The walk out required frequent bribes to keep us moving, but so does thd walk back from thd shops..... Decent trainers are a minimum. 4 year old had standard trainers which were a bit slippy on some of the rocks, however my wife and I felt very sure of foot in our trail running shoes, so could position ourselves well to be close to our daughter in the more dangerous sections.

Very enjoyable - Make sure you are prepared then you will have...