Toplou Gorge
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 2.51 mi
- Elevation gain
- 443 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Difficult
- Elevation loss
- 443 ft
- Max elevation
- 600 ft
- TrailRank
- 30
- Min elevation
- 167 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 3 hours 57 minutes
- Coordinates
- 766
- Uploaded
- November 12, 2019
- Recorded
- November 2019
near Toploú, Crete (Greece)
Viewed 962 times, downloaded 48 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
One of the most spectacular secrets of Cretan countryside is the small gorge by Toplou Monastery (this is actually a complex of two ravines merging some meters before reaching the sea).
Throughout its short length it hides two key surprises. First, it hosts a small colony of Cretan date palm trees (Theophrastus palm trees), while at the end of it, by the sea, some ponds with fresh water are formed. Especially these springs are an unexpected view in the hot and dry East Crete.
(https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/)
The Hike
(source: https://www.crete-today.com/toplou-gorge/)
The entrance of the gorge is 200 meters west of the monastery. We can park next to the asphalt road and right in front of us we can see a relatively large door. We go through this door and we pass right next to a water tank and we descend to the bed of the gorge. Due to dense vegetation at that point, we proceed from the eastern side of the bed for about 200 meters. At this point the vegetation is diluted and we can now pass the rest of the gorge all the way through the bed.
There is no visible trail, but marked with red dots and vegetation allows us to find the way easily. 300 meters before we reach the ponds, the gorge begins to get wilder and rocky and in many times we should use our hands as well. It is not dangerous, but some familiarity is needed in that last piece of the route, on the way to the ponds.
From the last pond to the shore is about 100-150 meters. The return is achieved from the western gorge where there is also no path and no signposting. We just go to the eastern side of the gorge, just above the riverbed. The vegetation in this second gorge is denser than the eastern one and we are proceeding carefully trying to choose the shortest and cleanest route. 500 meters before the end we will meet a small door, which we close as we pass it. At this point we can see the asphalt road that connects Sitia with the Toplou monastery and we are very close to the starting point now. The total route is a little more than 4 kms and requires a basic familiarity and fitness due to the absence of a path.
Throughout its short length it hides two key surprises. First, it hosts a small colony of Cretan date palm trees (Theophrastus palm trees), while at the end of it, by the sea, some ponds with fresh water are formed. Especially these springs are an unexpected view in the hot and dry East Crete.
(https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/)
The Hike
(source: https://www.crete-today.com/toplou-gorge/)
The entrance of the gorge is 200 meters west of the monastery. We can park next to the asphalt road and right in front of us we can see a relatively large door. We go through this door and we pass right next to a water tank and we descend to the bed of the gorge. Due to dense vegetation at that point, we proceed from the eastern side of the bed for about 200 meters. At this point the vegetation is diluted and we can now pass the rest of the gorge all the way through the bed.
There is no visible trail, but marked with red dots and vegetation allows us to find the way easily. 300 meters before we reach the ponds, the gorge begins to get wilder and rocky and in many times we should use our hands as well. It is not dangerous, but some familiarity is needed in that last piece of the route, on the way to the ponds.
From the last pond to the shore is about 100-150 meters. The return is achieved from the western gorge where there is also no path and no signposting. We just go to the eastern side of the gorge, just above the riverbed. The vegetation in this second gorge is denser than the eastern one and we are proceeding carefully trying to choose the shortest and cleanest route. 500 meters before the end we will meet a small door, which we close as we pass it. At this point we can see the asphalt road that connects Sitia with the Toplou monastery and we are very close to the starting point now. The total route is a little more than 4 kms and requires a basic familiarity and fitness due to the absence of a path.
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