Greece Uoaei1 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
351 metres, to scale.
A slice through Kourtaliotiko 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
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.
351m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
3.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
30°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
49m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
2 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 27 °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.
- 15°12°Jan
- 15°12°Feb
- 16°14°Mar
- 19°16°Apr
- 23°20°May
- 27°24°Jun
- 30°27°Jul
- 30°27°Aug
- 27°25°Sep
- 24°21°Oct
- 20°18°Nov
- 16°14°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.
Gorge in Crete, Greece
Kourtaliotiko Gorge is a gorge in Greece. The relief model measures 351 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 3.3 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Agía Foteinínearest town · 16 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,450 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.9 km from the floor
- Chania International Airport (CHQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 47 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.
N
1.9 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 7.5 × 7.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 11viewpoints within 5 kmΤίμιος Σταυρός and 10 more
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete
- 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 10car parks within 3 km
- 2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3bus stops within 2 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmNear stream, Camping Apollonia
- 98hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmStefanos Village Hotel, Skinos, Emilia Apartments and 95 more
- 8restaurants 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
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
- Agía Foteiní16 km in a straight line
- Atsipópoulo17 km in a straight line
- Violí Charáki18 km in a straight line
- Rethymno18 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Kourtaliotiko 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.
Peakyas28 mountains 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 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 20 | 16 |
| Afternoon · rim | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 18 | 14 |
| Night · rim | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 90 | 80 | 40 | 25 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 47 | 67 | 95 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 8.6 | 10.3 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 9.3 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 3.5 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | 12 | 10 | 90 | 3.9 |
| Feb | 15 | 12 | 10 | 80 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 16 | 14 | 11 | 40 | 6.7 |
| Apr | 19 | 16 | 12 | 25 | 8.6 |
| May | 23 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 10.3 |
| Jun | 27 | 24 | 20 | 2 | 12.2 |
| Jul | 30 | 27 | 22 | 2 | 12.4 |
| Aug | 30 | 27 | 23 | 3 | 11.3 |
| Sep | 27 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 9.3 |
| Oct | 24 | 21 | 18 | 47 | 6.8 |
| Nov | 20 | 18 | 15 | 67 | 4.8 |
| Dec | 16 | 14 | 12 | 95 | 3.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (49 m) and the rim (429 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 | 132% | 57% | 159% | 89% | 29% | — | — | — | 102% | 168% | 172% | 73% |
| 2021 | 62% | 72% | 109% | 213% | 7% | — | — | — | 43% | 120% | 48% | 129% |
| 2022 | 151% | 95% | 221% | 17% | 35% | — | — | — | 113% | 165% | 75% | 18% |
| 2023 | 75% | 74% | 82% | 74% | 323% | — | — | — | 276% | 12% | 35% | 51% |
| 2024 | 116% | 57% | 34% | 13% | 94% | — | — | — | 69% | 15% | 42% | 134% |
| 2025 | 57% | 46% | 73% | 148% | 87% | — | — | — | 15% | 45% | 57% | 75% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Kourtaliotiko Gorge
Greece
- 351 mDepth
- 3.3 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 30°Steepest wall
Samariá Gorge National Park
Greece · 46 km
- 964 mDepth
- 5.1 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 56°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1530512) · 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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