Patsos gorge is also known as Agios Antonios because of the little church in the cave near the entrance of the gorge. It is located 30km from the city of Rethymno at 490m altitude.
In the shadow of Samaria gorge which is also in Crete, Patsos is a smaller and less crowded choice.
The whole route to the end and back is around 3 hours and there are points where you need to use some steady ropes and ladders. Nothing very difficult but you have to keep it in mind.
Another thing to keep in mind is that even in summer months some sections of the gorge may have water and since it’s narrow, there won’t be a way around it except taking your shoes off and walk across or even swim across since there was more than 1m of water when I was there last June.
At the start there is a wooden bridge. You can either cross it and walk next to the stream. A more difficult root since there is some rock climbing as the gorge starts to lose altitude. Or you can take the trail that goes through the right wall of the gorge . In any way you will end up in the same spot and from there after you use some steady ropes climb down to a usually flooded part of the gorge.
Please indicate the opening hours and seasons ex closed in Winter from January to April? It’s important for people to know when it is open.
Thank you.
Sophie
It’s always open, but you have to keep in mind that it is a partly flooded canyon. You should exercise caution especially during the autumn and winter months when the level of water can go up. During these times you should probably stay away from the flooded part unless you have at least basic canyoning experience and equipment.