Agia Irini Gorge

Agia Eirini Gorge is located on the west side of the White Mountains, in the province of Selino. It derives its name from the village near the entrance, 46 km from Chania. Its length is 7.50 km and its journey takes about three hours. The stream crossing the canyon ends at the sea, in the village of Sougia with its beautiful beach, where you can enjoy an unforgettable swim in the waters of the Southern Cretan Sea.

The canyon is part of the E4 European Trail. The southern entrance is 5 km from Sougia. It is part of the NATURA 2000 area and has been designated as a Wildlife Refuge by the Ministry of Agriculture. The canyon is part of the Cretan Goat’s habitat and is characterized by a variety of micro-environments that are a refuge and habitat for many species of fauna. The richness of forest vegetation is characteristic both in terms of trees (cypress, tropical pine, maple, plane tree, holly, aria) but also of shrubs, phrygans and aromatic plants with predominantly dicotyledon.