Greece Manos Perakakis · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
391 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sarakina 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.
391m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
19°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
34m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 26 °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°11°Jan
- 15°11°Feb
- 17°13°Mar
- 19°15°Apr
- 23°20°May
- 28°24°Jun
- 30°26°Jul
- 30°26°Aug
- 28°24°Sep
- 24°20°Oct
- 20°16°Nov
- 17°13°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
Sarakina Gorge is a canyon in Greece. The relief model measures 391 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 601 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Néa Anatolínearest town · 9.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,560 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Kastellou Charakinearest viewpoint · 2.5 km from the floor
- Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 48 km in a straight lineCar hire at HER airport (Heraklion)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.
The river
The the river runs highest from December to February.
The the river carries about 0.84 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from December to February. It is lowest from May to October.
- 2.8 m³/sJan
- 2.5 m³/sFeb
- 1.5 m³/sMar
- 0.8 m³/sApr
- 0.4 m³/sMay
- 0.2 m³/sJun
- 0.1 m³/sJul
- 0.1 m³/sAug
- 0.2 m³/sSep
- 0.6 m³/sOct
- 1.2 m³/sNov
- 2.3 m³/sDec
From about 0.10 m³/s in the lowest month to 2.8 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 100 km².
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
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.
- 3viewpoints within 5 kmKastellou Charaki
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete
- 1caves within 3 km
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 1campsites within 8 km
- 40hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSusanna's Pension, Βότσαλο, Villa Mertiza and 37 more
- 8restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- information boards and visitor centres 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
- Néa Anatolí9.2 km in a straight line
- Gra Liyiá11 km in a straight line
- Kritsá14 km in a straight line
- Ierápetra16 km in a straight line
- Kentrí16 km in a straight line
- Ágios Nikólaos20 km in a straight line
- Neápoli23 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Sarakina 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.
Peakyas17 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
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 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 17 |
| Afternoon · rim | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 13 |
| Night · rim | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 |
| 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 | 11 | 8 | 88 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 15 | 11 | 8 | 74 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 17 | 13 | 9 | 41 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 19 | 15 | 11 | 28 | 8.6 |
| May | 23 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 10.3 |
| Jun | 28 | 24 | 18 | 5 | 12.2 |
| Jul | 30 | 26 | 21 | 2 | 12.2 |
| Aug | 30 | 26 | 21 | 4 | 11.1 |
| Sep | 28 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 9.4 |
| Oct | 24 | 20 | 16 | 48 | 7.1 |
| Nov | 20 | 16 | 13 | 58 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 17 | 13 | 10 | 90 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (34 m) and the rim (635 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 | 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.
Sarakina Gorge
Greece
- 391 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 19°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3558586) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| 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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