For millions of years, the geological upheavals are reflected strongly in the intense relief of the island. While mountains rose, the river water continued its corrosional route through the limestone terrain, forming today's "land of gorges", Crete. With more than 400 canyons, Crete hosts the largest number of gorges in Greece, many of which are very popular with hikers. Here we present the best hiking gorges in Crete
Myli Gorge 
Mili Gorge is a stunning green oasis near the town of Rethymno. It is actuallya ravine inside which hosts a huge number of plants and trees, a real botanic garden. It is located north of the village Chromonastiri and south of Xero Chorio. In recent years it attracts many walkers who trek along a nice trail.
Sarakina Gorge 
16km west of the Ierapetra is the traditional village of Mythi. At a short distance from the village, the small Sarakina Gorge starts, which ends near the Mirtos. The length of the canyon reaches 1.5km and its width ranges from 3 to 10 meters, with only a few points exceeding that.
Agia Irini Gorge 
The gorge of Agia Irini is on the west side of the White Mountains, with many vertical passes. It gets its name from the homonym village located near the entrance, 46 km from Chania. Its length is 7.5 km and its crossing takes three hours. The gorge ends up in the seaside village of Sougia.
The beautiful Gorge of Kato Zakros (or the gorge of the Dead) starts in a short distance from Ano Zakros, nearly 100km southeast of St. Nicholas, and ends at Kato Zakros. The beauty of the landscape, the historical importance of the gorge and its accessibility, attract many visitors every year.
Aposelemis Gorge 
The canyon Aposelemis exits at the settlement Agrianá (or Adrianna as its inhabitants call it). It is the longest and most important geological canyon in the northern part of the prefecture of Heraklion.
Agiofarago Gorge (meaning Gorge of Saints) is located in south of Odigitria Monastery and has been shaped near the beds of two streams. The first stream starts north - northeast of Gyalomonochoro and the other starts northeast of the Odigitria. The two streams meet, near St Kiriaki and after following a relatively smooth path, west and south of Church St. Kiriaki, it arrives in Porofarango, where the main gorge of Agiofaraggouo starts and ends at the Libyan Sea, at a small but amazing beach.
Diktamos Gorge 
The canyon of Diktamos starts 21km east of Chania, next to the village Katochori at an altitude of 300m, and ends 8km eastern, at the village Faragi, at an altitude of 40m, next to the village of Stylos. Thus, it is also known as Katechori Gorge or Stylos Gorge.
The wild Prassano gorge is located 10 km southeast of Rethymnon. Starting south of Prasses village, it offers a three-hour walk through the stunning gigantic rocks and through some relatively hard accesses, which make the passage very interesting. The Prassano gorge is located next to the bare hills of Gargana. It ends in Platanias, east of the town of Rethymno.
