Aradena Gorge

The gorge south of Aradena

The Aradena Gorge ( Greek Φαράγγι Αραδαίνας Farangi Aradenas ) is one of the lesser-known, but still one of the most spectacular gorges of the Sfakia in the southwest of the Greek island of Crete .

location

The gorge exit to the Libyan Sea is located a few kilometers west of Loutro on the so-called Marmara Beach . From there, the gorge winds north towards the Lefka Ori (the "white mountains") and reaches its narrowest point below the village of Aradena ( Greek Αράδαινα ). The rock walls rise there almost vertically 138 meters with a gorge width of only about 8 meters in the bottom and about 25 meters at the upper edge.

Kalderimi crosses the gorge (view of the village)

A little north of the narrowest point, a paved mule track ( Greek καλντερίμι Kalderimi ) leads down into the gorge, until 1986 it was the only way to cross the gorge. The path connected the village of Anopolis , located a few kilometers east of the gorge, with the village of Aradena, located directly on the western slope of the gorge, and with Agios Ioannis a little further west.

The Aradena Gorge has only been accessible for a few years - provided it does not have water - even without climbing routes; the passages through the bottom of the gorge, which formerly only had to be overcome by ladder and rope, can now be bypassed by an easily walkable mule track on the western slope of the gorge. The ascent from the sea to Aradena takes about three hours.

The bridge

In 1986 a steel girder bridge was built over the narrow point, the bridge is a donation from a man named Vardinogiannis from Agios Ioannis , who had emigrated to the USA and provided his home village with a passable connection to Anopoli and thus also via Chora Sfakion to the rest of the road network of Crete wanted to. The roadway of the steel structure consists of unpaved wooden planks.

For the first time in 1993, every year since 2000, bungee jumping from the bridge takes place in the summer months from June to October , allegedly the highest jump from a bridge in Europe.

The village

The village of Aradena, located directly on the western bridgehead, could no longer benefit from the new transport connection, since it had been depopulated and abandoned after one of the last "great" Sfakia vendettas in the 1950s. The houses in the village are in ruins, only the Byzantine church Archangelos Michael is still being maintained.