From Therisso to Agia Roumeli (via Melindanou and Potámos)
From Therisso to Agia Roumeli on the coast of Lybian Sea via the summit of Melindanou, a part of the E4 route between Kallerghi and Katsiveli Refuges, places of Pirou, Petradhé and Potámos, and descending down on the sea level through the Eligias Faragi (gorge)
September 2007
No special training is required to make this trek. However, good physical health, ability to walk in difficult terrain and a little bit of endurance could be of advantage.
1st day: The beginning of the route is behind and above the village of Therisso, which is approx. 15km southwards from Chania (the regular daily bus connection), on a dirt road linking Therisso and Drakona villages (east of Th.). As soon as this road crosses (southward the village) a valley coming down from hills, and climbs up to a hillock, it is necessary to turn to the right and follow a sandy road running generally into the mountains. As soon as the road comes to the first rocks and after its first serpentine, there is a nice flat spot on the left side with benches and a table for resting and also with a desk where is written a legend concerning the nearby mitato. To the right, there is a branch to a ruin of this mitato mentioned situated among the green where is a water source hidden under ancient platan trees (Alyakes spring). The road swings then steadily up among roc. This road is also approaching to the beginning of the pathway, heading for ruins of former Venizelos headquarter (being here in the time of struggle for freedom and integration with Greece). A branch is marked by a big desk with a legend. Now it is quite simple: one has to follow that road (from which there are very scenic views down of the approaching road and Therisso with its surrounding) which is always ascending in a quite easy gradient as far as to the first intersection. Here the choice of the left road is the right one (to the right comes the wrong way for my actual purposes). It is possible to see the whole lower part around Therisso and also as far as to the northern coast with the city of Chania from here. The road goes on from this place through a wonderful scenery passing also a large mitato with a water source. As soon as a dark huge range appears on the right side (the range of Kaloros) it is an omen that the road is ending. At this end, there is a mitato and a water tank with water even in late summer. These buildings are built above the gorge on the place where a gully is falling down into the main gorge. My trek from this spot went on through the main gorge upward using sheep and goats' paths on the left slope. The distance from Therisso to this place could be about 13km. Well into the gorge, there are ruins of a mitato and one more in a much better state can be used as an emergency bivouac. However, I found a good camp-site for a tent and overnight here besides these objects.
2nd day: The pathway (an animal's path) with few convenient sites for bivouacking steadily follows the gorge, and passing a flatter place with rock plates, there are plastic water troughs. As well, nearby there is the underground water cistern hidden among bushes and covered by a white plastic sheet with water even in late summer (hopefully). A large mitato is not so far from this spot as well. Unfortunately, the water is probably drinkable after reboiling only. This part of the route ends in the saddle between the huge range with the peak of Melindanou (2133 m) on the left and the massif of Kaloros (1926 m) on the opposite side - near another ruin of a mitato. From this spot, one has to set off directly upwards to a col on the left-hand range. The saddle is visible high on the horizon above your head. The surface is stony, turning into scree especially in the upper half of the slope, and is very slippery. In the saddle, I met an E4 pole. Nice views open both from the slope when I ascended, from the saddle and from the summit of Melindanou as well: down, i.e. northwards, the approaching gorge and whole Kaloros range and even the city of Chania and the peninsula of Akrotiri with runways of the airport in a distance, but also to the right (westwards) the Kallerghi refuge, southwards into the Samaria gorge, and eastwards as far as to the highest point of Levka Ori - Páhnes!! The Melindanou peak is a flat summit to the left (eastward) from the saddle. First, I descended somewhere under Melindanou to reach the E4 again and then passed together three plains. The last one, Pirou (only here there is a mitato), is also the lowest point of this section of the E4. The E4 route is climbing uphill the opposite slope from this point to reach Katsiveli plain/refuge then, but for the Eligias Faragi (gorge) one has to turn down the valley. The path on the right side of the valley is marked by blue spots and leads to the bottom of the large mitato. Down below the mitato, there is a plain Petradhé.
3rd day: The final part of the route (alongside other mitato) is clear: steadily down through the valley. No one can get lost here! The path is always marked by blue spots. It is also possible to get some water here because there is a well beside the path giving good freshwater also even in late summer. The trek follows then a stream bed covered with pebbles. Nevertheless, in a distance behind two mitatos (this place is called Potámos) the marked path gets suddenly steeper and turns into the real narrow gorge with high and steep walls. There is also one quite critical site where the gorge-bed creates very high rocky step which is not possible to get over (until one is equipped by ropes). Therefore marks start climbing upward on the right side. This detour is in its first part rather dangerous because the footpath is traversing the really precipitous slope covered gliding gravel. Last part of this detour starts near a cypress tree in a steep gully with a fastened rope on its trunk. This rope helps to get down on the bed through a vertical crevice with many ledges and holds about 6 meters high. At the last third of the gorge also the scree surface can be met. The gorge comes to the cost and my trek continued along the coastal E4 route as far as to the Agia Roumeli village, when I camped at the informal camp site.
The whole route is not too difficult, but it is just quite long (from Therisso to the coast for about 30 - 40km, in the case when one is walking even from Chania, it takes for 15 km more). It is necessary to keep in one's mind that the Eligias Gorge itself is indeed only 10 km long, but it takes almost half of a day to get through it!
However, there is only one more dangerous point in the gorge. It is in its first third where a high rocky step is to be overcome by using the marked by-pass path on the western slope of the gorge. This slope is steep, slippery and it's lower part is secured by about 15 m long rope fastened on the big cypress tree which can help you at first to descend a very steep and unsteady gully and then climb down a vertical rift (approx. 5 – 7m high), where only some holds or small ledges are available, to the gorge-bed. Another by-passes are not so difficult, they climb usually up and down through scree of huge boulders.
Nevertheless, there is just one a little bit strange and surprising place you can meet in the gorge. It is a hill or more the low range which crosses and - in that way - closes/blocks the gorge!! Due to this fact, the gorge suddenly gets wider with an absolutely flat gorge-bed (this shape was made by water in the past). In this section of the route, one has to keep the right side of the gorge where is the marked path going up the hill. This place is called Fliskounias.
There are several places where it is possible to get water of various quality as described above: In Therisso, shortly behind Therisso as soon as the dirt road starts to wing upward to the Venizelos headquarter, there is a mitato with a spring giving drinkable water (Alyakes spring). The second source is not so far above the intersection of the road near to a big wall-nut tree (Monoskarfidhia), at the end of this dirt road, also nearby the mitato, but I’m not sure if this water is good for drinking. Surely not for drinking is the water from the underground reservoir in the last third of this part of the route through the gorge between the Melindanou peak and the Kaloros range. The next water source (with drinkable water), and last one on this trek, is the seepage well between Petradhé and Potámos.
It is possible to make this trek even in warmer months, maybe except the hottest season (July and August). I also recommend using high-quality trekking boots and poles.
Preview of picture in folder Therisso-Melindanou-Potamos-Eligias Faragi, Anopoli-Askifou
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