Richtis Gorge (, Faraggi tou Richti) is a gorge in
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
Map of Richtis Gorge here. It is a state protected park near
Exo Mouliana,
Sitia
Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...
, eastern
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
(
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
) that starts at the traditional village
Exo Mouliana, which is located on the national road between
Agios Nikolaos and
Sitia
Sitia (Latin language, Latin and Italian language, Italian) or Siteia (, ) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 11,166 inhabitants and the municipality has 20,438 (2021). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos, Cre ...
and ends at the secluded Richtis beach, just east of the village Kalavros. The hiking trail is about 4 km in length of moderate (spring/summer/autumn) to hard (winter) difficulty. Elevation difference between the starting point and the beach is about 350 meters. Rich vegetation (mainly platanus trees, wild berries and local flowers and herbs) and animal life (mainly local species of butterflies, small reptiles, birds and small mammals) can be observed along the way, as well as old stone bridges and water mills before it culminates with the Richtis Waterfall and beach, making Richtis gorge trail one of the most diversified hiking experiences in Crete.
[http://www.worldreviewer.com/travel-guides/canyon/richtis-gorge-and-waterfall/61078/ Richtis gorge and waterfall]
Etymology
"Richtis" in cretan dialect means "waterfall".
Hiking the gorge
There are several options:
* Walk down the gorge and return to the village the same way via the gorge (about 5 h total). If with a car, parking at Lachana bridge and starting the descent from there will save about 20 min walking each way.
* Walk down the road to the beach and walk up the gorge back to the village (about 4 h total). The opposite (down the gorge and up the road) is not recommended on a sunny day because the road is not shaded and you will be walking uphill and under the sun, the gorge however is almost entirely shaded.
* Drive to the beach (15 min) and walk the gorge until the waterfall (about 1/3 of the total length of the gorge), return to the beach and drive back to the village (the "lazy" way, about 2.5 h total)
* Drive 2 cars to the beach, drive back with one car, walk down the gorge and drive back to the village with the other car (about 4 h total). Alternatively, arrange with someone to pick you up from the beach and drive you to the village.
Times are given with the assumption that the gorge is walked at very slow pace and with at least one stop.
Photo gallery (on Flickr)
Richtis gorge in Crete 1Richtis gorge and waterfall in Crete 2Richtis gorge in Crete 3
See also
* List of waterfalls
This list of notable waterfalls of the world is sorted by continent, then country, then province, state or territory. A waterfall is included if it is at least tall and has an existing Wikipedia article, or it is considered historically sig ...
References
Gorges of Crete
Hiking trails in Greece
Landforms of Lasithi
Waterfalls of Greece
External links
{{commonscat, Richtis gorge
Hiking Richtis Gorge
* ttp://www.visitsitia.gr/en/activities/SitePages/view.aspx?nID=58 Richtis gorge hiking