Eloúnda to mount Oxia
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 6.33 mi
- Elevation gain
- 1,739 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 1,739 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,801 ft
- TrailRank
-
74
3.9
- Min elevation
- 40 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 3 hours
- Time
- 6 hours 40 minutes
- Coordinates
- 1866
- Uploaded
- October 12, 2020
- Recorded
- October 2020
near Káto Eloúnda, Crete (Greece)
Viewed 3285 times, downloaded 66 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
6.4 Kms walk to reach the top 540 meters high from Elounda up to the ruins on Mount Oxia
A long ascending road up to the Craggy ridge. Not many level areas.
Comparatively gentle climb but continuous which can sap you on a hot day.
The Zigzag up to the summit, again is not too difficult but can be draining, with no shade for relief. Worth it for the spectacular views. (on a good day)
When you get to the top by the church it's worth continuing on through the fence and following the footpath to the furthest point to look down on the spectacular views of the Elounda peninsular and surrounding area before returning back to the church for lunch
We chose to go off track on the return, a 1 km decent down 277 meters of rough terrain which may not be suitable for everyone.
So I have included an additional map for a more normal walk back as an alternative
Waypoints
Car park
118 ft
Start from car park
From the car park follow the concrete foot path that runs parallel to the main road, pass a school on the right and continue straight ahead over the road at the small crossroad onto a cobbled walled lane. Fairly flat for the first 700 meters
Waypoint
187 ft
Enter road and keep right
Across the road following a nice tarmac road Follow going under the road bridge keep straight on this pathway which loops to the right until you meet the road again. Here there is a small step-way to the left which you wont see until you walk up to slightly elevated main road. Up onto the road, go right on the main road a short distance and take the first left turn.
Intersection
315 ft
Turn left at the signposts
Follow this rough roadway as it swings to the left, take second right turn and basically stay on this pathway to the ridge
Intersection
354 ft
Ignore the path to the left
Keep on this pathway, ignore the left-hand path which leads to an olive grove
Photo
433 ft
view of pathway
view of pathway Slight downhill path of 300 meters before 2.8 Kms climb of 290 meters to the base of the Mount
Intersection
597 ft
Turn right and follow the concrete road ( also alternative return but turn right and pass building)g)
Turn right and follow the concrete road. This pathway winds its way up the ridge in gentle zig -zags always going up
Panorama
764 ft
Great views
As the pathway in a series of long loops takes you further up. there are spectacular views over the area and scree slopes
Panorama
978 ft
View of the pathway that you will be taking
View of the pathway that you will be taking further along. continue along the uphill ascent until you reach a col at around 400 meters high Pass a house to the right and a little further on you will reach the start of the summit climb
Photo
1,358 ft
Pass a house to your right and continue a short distance to base of Mount
Continue to the sign that marks the start of the zigzag path to the top of the ridge From sign posts a 1100 meter climb up 138 meter height to the church at the top.
Door
1,562 ft
Photo of pathway
The pathway up is clear, not to stony and not too steep. Pass through the gate and the track gets a lot narrower and slightly more rougher all the way up to the summit passing a few ruined buildings and water tanks There is no shade on this pathway, which makes it feel a lot worse than it is.
Photo
1,818 ft
Top of Mount Oxa (Oxia)
Worth the climb to see the stunning views (on a clear day) of both Elounda on one side and Agios Nikolaos on the other. The area is now fenced in stopping you from exploring all the ruins, but a metal door frame allows you to explore some of the old ruins
Intersection
1,299 ft
Choice of return
Not for everyone. Here we went off track, down through the undergrowth, passing spiky trees, loose rocks, overhanging branches etc to cut off the the huge loop down to the sewers works Less intrepid walkers may well choose to continue along the return pathways (YELLOW) turning right at the building where the way-point on the way up you turned left and following that route until you hit section by the sewers works and back on to the track. The off road terrain is approx 850 km descending down 277 meters but does cut off some 2.6 kms
Photo
571 ft
Through rough terrain and onto oncrete pathway again
Through the undergrowth all downhill, fairly rough, no signposts to follow, just breaking your own pathway heading for the buildings. Finally breakthrough by a typical wall over a broken segment and onto a pathway that leads to a concrete roadway passing Dairy building, sewers works and on into Elounda
Intersection
436 ft
Keep going straight ahead
Blue signage here to follow. Path well concreted as is used by vehicles to the buildings
Intersection
220 ft
Turn right follow blue signs
Track gets a lot narrower and rougher before it hits concrete roadway
Photo
151 ft
Keep going straight ahead
Last part of the rough pathway. Pathway leads into the back streets of Elounda through the houses Pathway comes out onto the main road through Elounda . Turn left back to the car park. We stopped for a bevy here before returning to the car.
Comments (3)
You can add a comment or review this trail
Well done 👏 Looked very exposed to the elements 🌞😎. Great views at the top 👍
I have followed this trail View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Difficult
Performed in September and a bit hard because of no many shade but many great views, particularly on the top! We did the off track, funny but no so easy.
I have followed this trail verified View more
Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Moderate
Pas de trace au sol dans la montée avant de retrouver la route, juste avant la maison au pied du Mont Oxia, c’est dommage, sinon belle balade !