General information

Imbros gorge

Imbros gorge is located in province of Sfakia and is one of the most visited gorge in Crete. The length of the gorge is 11 km. The route starts from the small village of Imbros, 700 meters above sea level. The intial part of the gorge, which is quite wide is called Porofarago or Porolagos. Intially the course is descending and the sidewalls are relatively low. But while descending , the canyon narrows continuosly, the sidewalls raise higher and the scenery is impressive. Soon the sides of the canyon start approaching and getting higher.

In many parts of the gorge we meet traces of the old stone paved trail that was once the main passage from Sfakia to Chania. Therefore the canyon was a theatre of sevel battles between Ottomans and Christians during Turkish occupation of Crete in 1821 and 1867.

Moving on, we cross the position called Airplane, where a German plane crashed during the Second World War. After this we reach the most impressive part of the gorge , Stenada. Here the gorge walls approach at 1.6m , while their height reaches 300m! The rocks are carved with very beautiful formations.

Continuing our journey, we pass through some narrow passages and soon reach the exit of the gorge by the village Komitades.

Sfakia

Our second stop is Sfakia or Chora Sfakion which is 73km south east of Chania town.A small village with 2000 inhabitants living on a land area full of gorges and and coastal villages. Fragokastello, Kallikratis, Askifou and Loutro are some of the most famous villages at this area. The Sfakia region is crossed by many gorges( E4  foothpath), among which is the famous Samaria gorge. If you are lucky you can see rare animals, like vultures and eagles, and the kri-kri (or agrimi), the wild Cretan goat!

Itinerary