Gourgouthakas pothole
The cave Gourgouthakas when first explored was the deepest cave in Greece and the second in the Balkans. Access is almost impossible by anyone and can only be achieved by very experienced cavers. The second largest sinkhole in Greece is also located in Crete and is known as Tafkoura. It is located on the site "Atzines" of the White Mountains at prefecture Chania and east of the peak of Agio Pnevma in Melidoni area.
Gourgouthakas means a small hole on rocks, in which rain water is collected and from which animals drink water.
The cave was discovered in '90 by the French Speleological Club Catamaran. The same group, after numerous failed attempts, managed to reach the bottom of the deep cave (-1208m), on August 1998. In the bottom, there is a nice "siphon" (lake with water). Even from there it is possible to dive to further explore of the cave, but this hasn’t been done yet. There are also indications for another entrance, which is even higher, thereby increasing the depth of -1208m.
