Activity

Rouvas Gorge

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Trail photos

Photo ofRouvas Gorge Photo ofRouvas Gorge Photo ofRouvas Gorge

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Trail stats

Distance
3.5 mi
Elevation gain
2,408 ft
Technical difficulty
Difficult
Elevation loss
646 ft
Max elevation
3,207 ft
TrailRank 
85 4.5
Min elevation
1,410 ft
Trail type
One Way
Moving time
2 hours 10 minutes
Time
2 hours 53 minutes
Coordinates
961
Uploaded
October 17, 2019
Recorded
October 2019
  • Rating

  •   4.5 5 Reviews

near Áno Zarós, Crete (Greece)

Viewed 4040 times, downloaded 89 times

Trail photos

Photo ofRouvas Gorge Photo ofRouvas Gorge Photo ofRouvas Gorge

Itinerary description

A moderate to hard depending on your fitness.
A walk that is very easy to follow with plenty of red marks on rocks, along with many parts of the trail wooden and mesh fence along the route.
There is a bit of everything on this walk.
Climbing up steep steps cut into the rock, easy walking under shady trees, negotiating largish boulders and rocks, keeping your balance on slippery shale stones and walking over several wooden bridges.

The walk is the same way down as it is up and not a circular, however there are several alternative routes that emanate from the top if you do not wish to repeat the same route.
I have not walked them so I cannot advise on there suitability or length, or even where they end up.
I did not see any road leading away from the top, but there were some 4x4 vehicles parked by the church, so their must be some sort of trail up and down.

I did see some very young children with their parents going up this trail, I however would not recommend this as it is not a very easy trail which offers no alternative exit if the going gets too hard or tiring and they will have to return to the start.

An enjoyable albeit fairly tough walk. (For me anyway)

Waypoints

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,430 ft
Photo ofStart

Start

To start the walk you walk through the nice scenic lake setting and through the small cafe where you will see some steps with a wooden rail to your right.

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,416 ft
Photo ofThe actual start.

The actual start.

Pass through the cafe, where the artifical grass stops and start up the steps

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,481 ft
Photo ofSign

Sign

Pass this sign

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,494 ft
Photo ofWire fence

Wire fence

At the end of the steps, turn left with the wire fence on your left and just follow the well worn path.

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,532 ft
Photo ofChurch

Church

Along the path you will see the large blue domed church, however the trail bypasses this as you walk around the right hand side perimeter.

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,543 ft
Photo ofSmall river bed

Small river bed

Along a small dried up river bed acrooss to the other side and follow the path up to the right.

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,624 ft
Photo ofKeep right by the sign

Keep right by the sign

The path is easy to negotiate with loads of markers all the way to the top.

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,704 ft
Photo ofAnother fenced path

Another fenced path

Just follow the fence

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,711 ft
Photo ofSteps

Steps

Up the cut steps, fairly steep

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,744 ft
Photo ofDip down

Dip down

Small part of the trail that goes down

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,868 ft
Photo ofRock area

Rock area

Follow the red marks going around to your left. A bit of rocks and boulders to negotiate around

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,860 ft
Photo ofsame rock area

same rock area

Up a few larger boulders, no handholds though

PictographPhoto Altitude 1,915 ft
Photo ofShaded tree area

Shaded tree area

Once you have got near here it is fairly level and well shaded

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,087 ft
Photo ofwell worn pathway

well worn pathway

Easy to follow trail

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,046 ft
Photo ofAgou Nikolaou Gorge

Agou Nikolaou Gorge

Small gorge of the same name above goes to the right. Admire but go left to continue the trail

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,064 ft
Photo ofPhoto

Photo

Another shot of the gorge

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,076 ft
Photo ofLeave gorge

Leave gorge

Follow the red markers on

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,003 ft
Photo ofkeep going up slight slope

keep going up slight slope

Follow pathway going up again

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,062 ft
Photo ofSign post

Sign post

At the sign post go right and follow the footpath which continues up. The pathway is ongoing up with the wooden rail missing and broken in many places. A few small landslides over the winter create small areas of loose gravel

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,120 ft
Photo ofView looking down

View looking down

View looking down while following trail. This is defintely a single line part of the trail

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,117 ft
Photo ofMore steps

More steps

More steps, still going up

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,166 ft
Photo ofView of path below

View of path below

Looking down on the pathway you have already done to give you an idea of the height that you have climbed

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,253 ft
Photo ofSeat

Seat

Seating area built around a tree with good views and a good water drinking / snack point

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,344 ft
Photo ofLoose small rocks

Loose small rocks

Fairly slippery area of small loose pepples where you go down before picking up the track again

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,380 ft
Photo ofStone area

Stone area

Continue over stony area a few larger boulders to get over, some shade from trees always welcome

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,380 ft
Photo ofRed markers

Red markers

Still a rocky area, but plenty of red markers to follow

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,367 ft
Photo ofMore steps

More steps

More steps going up

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,542 ft
Photo ofMissing fence

Missing fence

Continue on, be aware fence is not always there and the path is fairly narrow with a fairly high drop

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,605 ft
Photo ofAnother large boulder area

Another large boulder area

More larger boulders to climb over

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,664 ft
Photo ofSecond wooden bridge

Second wooden bridge

Very secure wooden bridge to pass over to continue the trek

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,916 ft
Photo ofLow rock, watch your head

Low rock, watch your head

You have already walked a longish but fairly flat and scattered shaded area, but watch your head with some of the low branches and rocks

PictographPhoto Altitude 2,946 ft
Photo ofMore fence

More fence

Path continues with a decent hand rail

PictographPhoto Altitude 3,173 ft
Photo ofNearly there

Nearly there

A few areas where it narrows, stunning walk with plenty of birds of prey circulating and great rock formations. There is normally a few patches of water puddles around this area throughout the year.

PictographPhoto Altitude 3,147 ft
Photo ofEating area

Eating area

After going through the small narrow area it opens out onto large tree lined area with plenty of tabele and seats. There is a low small brick enclove that has fresh water available from a tap. Beware of greedy goats wanting to pinch your food, lol. They are very persistant.

PictographPhoto Altitude 3,206 ft
Photo ofChurch

Church

The walk not finished until you touch the church door.

Comments  (5)

  • Gisi Böser Oct 22, 2021

    I have followed this trail  View more

    Ein wirklich anspruchsvoller Aufstieg. Es hat sich aber definitiv gelohnt, zumal wir mit beginnender Dämmerung als Letzte hinab gelaufen sind und einige seltene Vögel beobachten konnten.

  • Kostas S 1 Apr 15, 2023

    I have followed this trail  verified  View more

    Nice trail, not very difficult (but it is sometimes)
    Variety of different sceneries!

  • medwyn jones Jun 11, 2023

    I have followed this trail  verified  View more

    Excellent, thank you. I had the blessing of rain in the upper sections today, unexpected but not unwelcome

  • nikenak Sep 23, 2023

    I have followed this trail  verified  View more

    Beautiful route, not too difficult, though it can be very hot in summer. In that season, the river is dry and you can walk through it.

  • Photo of haibike 7.0
    haibike 7.0 Nov 8, 2023

    I have followed this trail  verified  View more

    Bel percorso, fatto 8/11/2023. Grazie per la traccia. Ciao

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