Venerato gorge

The beautiful but unknown canyon of Venerato is located 17km south of Heraklion, just next to the village Venerato and Paliani Monastery. The deep part of the gorge is very short in length (about 500m), but its beauty does not leave the visitor unaffected, although it is badly infected by human activities.

Starting from Avgeniki village, it ends at the Church of Agios Fanourios in Venerato, which is built below a steep cliff.

Continuing in the gorge, the vegetation and the platans trees become lush and mix very nicely with one large old watermill. From there the canyon gets narrower (it reaches 60cm width), while the walls reach a height of 25 meters.

Walking more, you will see a big cave, Gra Spiliara (Old Cave), where many wild pigeons nest. The cave, and generally the canyon, served as a refuge during the Turkish Era and the German Occupation of Crete.

In some places you we need to get wet, while in some other parts you need to climb (easily) on some rocks. It is also recommended, for those who walk down the gorge, to wear a helmet, as some goats on the sides of the canyon might cause some stonefalls.

Moving on, after 80m you meet Kouroupi area, the point where the canyon walls rise almost to unite, while several small waterfalls are formed. On the right there is a slit in the rock that just one man and has a length of 20 meters. It ends in a deadlock, as there is a cliff with 7 meters height and a deep pond at its end. In Kouroupi ends the walking part of the gorge.