An introductory event for the gorges of Arkadi and Eleftherna will take place next Wednesday, March 26th at 7:30 PM at the Exhibition of the Western Crete Branch of the Hellenic Speleological Society in Rethymno, at 14 Patelarou Street (Old Town). The presentation-screening will be conducted by Haris Stratidakis, a member of the branch, who will also organize an excursion to Arkadiotiko Gorge on Sunday, March 30th.

In the Arkadiotiko Gorge, where the speaker has been leading crossings since 1999, there will be guided stops at: Panagia of Merkouri with its impressive plane tree, the 1685 bridge, the 1651 fountain, the Arkadiotika tanneries, the Holy Cross of Kore, and Agios Ioannis in Trapeza, with its quarry. We’ll continue to the area with fossils, where a fossilized fish was once discovered, and descend to the Arkadiotiko Metochi of Astyrakia, home to a sustainable cypress forest.

Further on, we’ll come across the water source (now diverted) and the remains of Arkadiotiko watermills, including their mill houses. More mill ruins, once belonging to residents of Pikris, will be seen along the way. We’ll pause at the church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, built on the site of an ancient sanctuary. In Pikris, we’ll visit the Clodio Mansion, notable for its impressive doorway from 1610. We’ll conclude the Arkadiotiko Gorge tour at the welcoming home of Kostis Birikakis, who can share authentic stories about the gorge up to the 1960s, when it was still full of life.

Wednesday’s screening will also showcase the cave sanctuary of Agios Antonios in Trapeza, the Byzantine church of Agios Dimitrios (formerly a Roman bath), and the outflow of the Arkadiotis River into the sea, where an open-air archaeological park is being developed.

The presentation of the Eleftherna Gorge will focus more on the man-made caves in the area, following a route the speaker has guided dozens of groups along since 1985: Spilios Tsikoudis, the quarry-cave of Peristere, the cave churches of Saints Constantine and Helen, Saint Anna, Saint Kali, Saint Elesa (collapsed), and Saint Anthony, the spring of Saint Elesa, the Hellenistic bridge of Chalopotamos, and the Tservopetros watermill. After fossil coral exploration, we’ll search for the Seinis Cave and head up to the acropolis of ancient Eleftherna, at Pyrgi, where the excavation site of the late Thanasis Kalpaxis (1944–2021) is located. Along the route, we’ll also come across remains of the ancient wall.

From there, we’ll move south to the impressive Sternes—two large water cisterns that were probably quarries in Hellenistic times and later used as Roman reservoirs. If time allows, we’ll also visit the spring at Kalo Nero. On the eastern slope of the hill, we’ll visit the Trypa of the Windmill, a water tunnel carved into the rock, which carried water to the Katsivelos area, where the extensive excavation site of the late Petros Themelis (1936–2023) is located.

During Wednesday’s screening, attendees will also see impressive rock-cut tombs, the spring at Pigadaki, the Byzantine Tower, Papa’s Cave and the ancient olive tree found there, the rock chapels of Agios Nikolaos and Agios Georgios, Papa’s Kolymbos, the dozens of cisterns in the Nisi area, the seasonal waterfall, the excavated site and basilica of Katsivelos, the Sotiras Christos, and the foundation of the earlier basilica. The natural environment of the gorge, which has largely remained untouched by modern “civilization”, will also be discussed.

The crossing of the Eleftherna Gorge will take place at a later date to be announced.

Attendance at Wednesday’s event is free, as with all events organized by the Speleological Society. Participation in Sunday’s Arkadiotiko Gorge excursion is also free, but requires prior registration with the organizer, Haris Stratidakis (6974026196), who will arrange carpooling to avoid a return hike in the opposite direction.