Charkomatas Gorge
Chalkomatas or Charkomatas Gorge is located near the village Chamezi in Sitia Province and starts from the area where a dirt road starts ascending to the temple of Prophet Elijah and the fortress Liopetro. The vegetation in the gorge is low and the geological formations of limestone are impressive. The course in the river bed, which is always dry, is smooth in most of the route and does not have any particular difficulty.
Around the middle of the route and at a height of 60m above the river bed, there is cave Geloudospilios. The cave gets its name after the Geloudes, the demonic creatures in the form of a woman who took life from newborn babies, drinking their blood.
After three hours of walk through the gorge, the stream ends at the beautiful beach of Roussa Limni. The beach is formed below the cave of Chalkomatas, where, according to the legend, pirates hid their precious treasures. They even say that the cave has been blown up by some locals while looking for gold. Roussa Limni can also be reached by road from the neighbouring beach Papadiokambos, which is within walking distance.
