The waterfall
Twenty metres falling into a green pool amid the rock.
Kostdro โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Rudolphu โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Zde โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Zde โ CC BY-SA 4.0
**Free**, with no gate and no wardens โ **which means your safety is entirely your own responsibility**. โ **Waymarking is weak and intermittent** โ take a trail map on your phone (they work offline) and do not rely on signs. โ **โ Do not enter after rain or when rain is forecast** โ the valley collects water fast and the flash-flood risk is real; this is the most important warning here. โ **You cross the stream many times** on slippery stones โ **closed shoes you are happy to soak** beat anything else; sandals are dangerous. โ **The route is one-way downhill** to the beach, and **the return is a full climb** of about an hour and a half โ or **arrange a car to meet you** on the road near the beach. โ **No water, no facilities and no reliable phone signal** at the bottom. โ **The waterfall dries up or weakens greatly in late summer** โ April to June is far better. Allow **3โ5 hours** there and back.
๐ฌ Ask on WhatsAppOpen in Google Maps โ**A green gorge that ends in a waterfall and then a beach** โ the least known of Crete's gorges and the least like the others. Where Samaria and Imbros are **dry, rocky and exposed**, Richtis is **shaded, wet and green** the whole way: water running along the floor, huge plane trees shading the path, ferns and plants on the walls, abandoned old watermills, and a **Venetian stone bridge** still standing. About halfway along is the **Richtis waterfall** โ some **20 metres** dropping into a green pool you can swim in. That is the sight people come for. The path then carries on until it opens onto pebbly **Richtis beach** on the sea โ a perfect end to a mountain walk. โ But the route is **poorly waymarked** and requires crossing the stream several times, and it **becomes dangerous after rain**. โ It is **free**, with no ticket and no gate.
Twenty metres falling into a green pool amid the rock.
An old stone span still standing on the valley floor.
A pebble bay on the sea, reached straight off the walk.
Exo Mouliana, 72300 Lasithi, Crete
**Decide before you start โ it is the most important decision of the day.** โ **Option one (best): two cars or a driver.** Leave one car at **the road near Richtis beach** and drive up in the other to the gorge entrance above **Exo Mouliana**; or have a companion drive down and meet you. Then you walk **downhill only** โ about two and a half hours with rests and a swim. โ **Option two: down to the waterfall and back.** Descend to the falls, swim, then **return the way you came** without going on to the beach โ about **three hours**, a very sensible choice that spares you the long climb. โ **Option three (the hardest): the whole route both ways** โ down to the beach and a full climb back, **4โ5 hours** with no water and no shade on the upper sections. โ **Do not count on a taxi**: signal is poor at the bottom and the road near the beach is **isolated**, with little passing traffic.
**Three completely different gorges โ the choice depends on what you want, not on which is famous.** โ **Samaria**: **the longest and best known** (16 km, 5โ7 hours), dry, rocky and exposed, with the famous Gates, **seasonal** (MayโOctober), staffed with wardens, water and rest points, and ending with a boat. **For the serious walker who wants the achievement.** โ **Imbros**: **the easiest and most sensible** (8 km, 2โ3 hours), a continuous descent, **open all year**, cheap and less crowded. **For families and for anyone with half a day.** โ **Richtis**: **the loveliest and the most unlike the rest** โ green, shaded, with running water, a waterfall and a beach at the end, and **free and nearly empty**. โ But it is **entirely unserviced**: no wardens, no good waymarking, no water, and **a real flash-flood risk after rain**. **For a confident walker who wants something that resembles no other part of Crete.** โ **Do not make it your first gorge** if you are not used to unmarked trails.
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