circular trail around Ha canyon

This is a variation of a former MTB trail, but steeper. It starts from Ierapetra on the main road leading to Agios Nicholaos and leaves it turning right (at the level of Monastiriki) in the direction of Kavousi on a smaller asphalt road and further on dirt tracks closer to the mountains at the right, with a clear view of the impressive Ha canyon entrance. Note that because of strong headwinds combined to trucks passing near, this main road is probably the most dangerous part of the whole trail.

Having gone through Kavousi and near the end of the village, there is a small road on the right with hints of Minoan ruins, diverse churches and very old olive trees. This is not really a dirt track yet but is a relatively steep path, zigzagging its way up above the village. Before a last taverna close to the old olive trees (if you reach the taverna you missed it), there is a turn right that must be taken that gives access to the ascending path. This is now a dirt track, with some sand making pedaling a bit painful, which goes up and up and is relatively steep but manageable, with enough shade to provide relief of temporary shelter.

Then comes the hard part. At approximatively 500 m elevation, the dirt track stops and is now a pure trail track beginning at the edge of a nearby canyon. It is very steep, and I could not go on pedaling, the more so that any wrong move could lead to total disaster a few hundred meters below...

Worth to note, this path belongs to a trail named E4 and some useful signs make it clear which way to follow whenever there is a junction (there are not that many though). Anyway, the global sight is mind blowing and worth the effort: Minoan ruins are clearly visible far below, as are steep sides of surrounding mountains, with the blue of north coast as far background. On top of it, so to speak, a couple of large eagles began circling above me, sometimes too close for my comfort...

It was rather exhausted when I reached the end of the trail, now a dirt track that acted like a highway after approximatively 2 hours of pushing or carrying my bike. Worth to note, the last part became a nightmare because I had the wrong shoes (light ones) with zero protection on ankles, which means I was constantly scratched by surrounding thorny plants (the path is very narrow at the end).

The end of the stony path is close to the highest point, on top of the Thripty village, and anyway pedaling uphill was a piece of cake compared to what I endured before. Having reached Thripti, there are a few ups and downs in the village before reaching the asphalt road that leads to Kato Chorio, and then further back to Ierapetra where the journey started. The sight going down is amazing, but difficult to enjoy because there are so many turns all the way down...

Now a warning to whom would try the path downhill: I would not recommend it (especially on the crest part above the canyon) unless you are really a pro, because it is sometimes very narrow with lots of heavy rocks spread all over...