Kyliaris River
Kyliaris river starts near Stylos village at province Apokoronas and ends on the beach of Kyani Akti near Kalives. It’s 5km long and is the second largest river in water flow in Crete. The name Kyliaris means the river that carries stones away. It's ancient name was Pyknos (i.e. dense), due to the dense vegetation along its banks.
The river is supplied with the waters of Varsamou and Mavri peaks of the White Mountains (1389m and 2069m respectively). Kyliaris has 4 tributaries with an overall network length of 36km. These are Keramiotis (dry on summer), Anavreti (dry on summer), Mylavlakas and Mantamas with water all year round.
Along its course, the river meets three watermills at Stylos, Armeni and Kalyves; there was one more mill rotated by horses near Nio Horio. From the springs of Stylos starts a trail passing through dense vegetation, old water mills and channels, which crosses Platanakia location. At Platanakia there is the chapel of Saint John the Forerunner celebrating on August 29. Around the church built in 1898 there is a dense grove of plane trees, which nicely landscaped with benches and tables, ideal for picnic.
From there, the river continues crossing the plain of Stylos with the beautiful gardens and passes through dense vegetation with plane trees, reeds and aquatic plants, until it reaches the sea. The river is a very important wetland for birds, turtles, amphibians, eels and crabs. It is also noteworthy to mention that Kyliaris is quite suitable for rafting, but you should be responsible for organizing it and having your own equipment.
