beauty of samaria gorge

Welcome to  

Agia Irini Gorge

All the information you need for your hiking and your transfer in one place.

How to get to Agia Irini Gorge

Agia Irini Gorge is not a circular walk. It has a top and a bottom entrance, so this means that whatever your entry point might be, you will need to find a way to return to your starting point. This is the case, unless you decide to do the Gorge backwards as well. 

If you are visiting Agia Irini Gorge from Chania by a car, your best option is to leave your car on the top entrance, and when you finish and have reached Oasis taverna, give us a call for a ride to the Entrance of Agia Irini Gorge.

If you are coming from Sougia by car, you can start at the bottom of the gorge to the northern exit and get the bus that goes to Sougia (at about 15.30), Then get off at the junction to Livadha – Koustogerako and walk to your car (About 4 km). Alternatively you can book your round trip to Agia Irini gorge with us.

If you are coming from Chania without a car, you can take the bus to Sougia and then book a taxi, for a round trip to Agia Irini gorge. Then you can either go for a swim to Sougia, or continue with your schedule. Alternatively you can prebook a trip to Agia Irini gorge from Chania.

If you want to visit Agia Irini gorge without a car from Sougia, you can get a taxi to the southern entrance and walk back to Sougia, or arrange another transport.

 

If you choose to walk to Sougia, the distance is about 1 hour of walking and a bit more than 4.5 km. Avoid walking in mid day, because there is not much shade on the road. 

Thinking of avoiding that extra time of walk in the heat? Book your taxi for Agia Irini Gorge with us.

General Information

Agia Irini Gorge is a great alternative to the famous Gorge of Samaria and its significantly less crowded. During the summer period there is a small fee (2 euro) to help with the maintenance of the Gorge. It is the second biggest Gorge in the region of Chania, after Samaria Gorge.

It is a smaller Gorge with many trees on your descend with a lot more shade comparetively. It is located just 18 km away from Sougia and it finishes about 4.5 km outside of the village. The main route is about 6.5 km and can take from 3-5 hours depending on your stops to admire the nature or rest. 

Agia Irini gorge is open all year round, but keep in mind that it is not as well organised as Samaria Gorge. When finishing the gorge, you can either walk to the village or call for a taxi to Sougia

 

Agia Irini Gorge is a part of the white mountauns Natura 2000 area (Code 4340008) and it is home to the Cretan Kri kri (wild goat). It is shaded for most part of it and its been declared home to many plant spieces. 

Adding to that is the importance of the Gorge, during difficult times in Crete, many rebels used to hide in it. Futher to the south there are remains of the ancient cities of Yrtakina, Lissos and more. 

 

Agia Irini Gorge Dates and Opening times

Agia Irini gorge, is open all year round. Its not uncommon that sometimes the Gorge might have forbidden entry due to strong winds or heavy rainfall. Make sure you dont choose a day after a heavy rainfall or with bad weather conditions in general.

Top Entrance

In the top entrance you can find a cafe to get some water or food, but it’s better to have that before hand, in case you will not find it open.

Bottom Entrance

The bottom entrance, or exit to the most is not far from Sougia village. You can decide which way you will enter Agia Irini gorge.

 

If you are feeling more adventurus, you can do the Fygou gorge first, that ends up on the top entrance of Agia Irini gorge and continue you hike all the way down to Sougia. Fygou gorge is a small gorge that after 1 hour of walking meets up with Agia Irini gorge.

Gorge Hiking Duration

Hiking through Agia Irine Gorge ( or Saint Irene Gorge) typically takes around 3 hours to complete. In case of many stops and the company of children, keep in mind that it might as well take you up to 5 hours. In fact the duration can also vary depending on your pace and fitness level. The gorge is roughly 7 km (4.34 miles), starting from Agia Irini village, descending through thick forest in a mostly designated path to just outside Sougia village (4.5 km). From there you can either walk to the village or book a transfer with us to get you to your hotel in Chania, Sougia or your car at the top of Agia Irini Gorge.

Weather Conditions on Agia Irini Gorge

Now the descend of this beautiful Gorge, might be a bit easier, because in most of the route it is under the shades of the trees. So higher temperatures might be forgiving, but you still need to take extra care in case of rain. As we have already said in our other articles, Chania is a region with Subtropical climate and it rarely rains in Summer time.

Leaving from Agia Irini Gorge

Either getting down from descending Agia Irini gorge and ending up near Sougia, or you want a transfer and a pickup for Agia Irini Gorge, we are here for you.

Picking you up from cafeteria Oasis near Sougia

When you fisnish your descend of Agia Irini gorge, you end up in the cafeteria Oasis, just 4.5 km outside Sougia. You can either give us a call while you are catching your breath with a refreshment or make it a bit earlier to have us there waiting for you.

Transfer to Agia Irini and pick up at the end of it

Of course you can always arrange a daytrip to Agia Irini Gorge and let us arrange everything. Let us plan your transfer from Chania to Agia Irini Gorge and you just enjoy the hike.

You can specify the exact address or hotel on the comments section
Please write us in the comments if you need more than one.

Booking Information

How to book your transfer

Let us take care of your transfer to

Agia Irini Gorge

We specialise on your safe transfer on Agia Irini Gorge or any other Gorge of West Crete.

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Agia Irini gorge taxi

Why Choose Samaria Taxi

At Samaria taxi, we understand the importance of reliability and punctuality for making your trip stress free. It is very important for us to arrive on schedule every time, with our team of excperienced drivers through their detailed knowledge of the roads, allowing you to relax and enjoy the route.

With our extended fleet of Minivans, minibus and taxi we cater to every need of our customers. We provide transfers for bigger or smaller groups or even suggest a shared route if it pleases you for better pricing plans. All of the cars in our fleet provide a comfortable and easy ride.

Our drivers at Samaria taxi are highly experienced with extensive local knowledge of the Samaria Gorge and the surrounding areas. With many years of experience of driving on the routes of West Crete, they ensure a safe and smooth journey, allowing them to provide tips and recommendations, giving you a better travel experience.

With our very competitive pricing you can be sure that our quote will be the best on the market. We keep our prices low without compromising our quality or have any small letters in our services. If you get a better quote you can always ask us to match it.

What are your transfer options?

At Samaria taxi, we can provide taxi transfer to Samaria Gorge, from any location of Crete. We can pick you up from your hotel or randevouz point and transfer you to the Gorge. We are located on most of the large cities around Crete, so we can give very competitive pricing.

We also provide taxi to Agia Irini Gorge and Vasiliki Strata Gorge

We can accomodate a small or larger group transfer with the wide selection of cars in our fleet. We can provide from taxis to minivans and mini bus.

If you have any special requests, you can contact us to talk it through and find the best solution for your transfer.

Besides Samaria Gorge, we provide transfer to other known gorges of West Crete as well. These gorges are Agia Irini Gorge and Vasiliki Strata Gorge.
Discover more information for those two smaller but beautiful gorges of West Crete.

 

Find out more information for your luxury transportation for a fun day full of hiking bellow.

samaria taxi

Samaria gorge

taxi transfer

Agia Irini transfer

Ag.Irini gorge

taxi transfer

vasiliki strata

Vasiliki Strata

taxi transfer

F.A.Q.

You can certainly hike the Agia Irini gorge without a tour. Its a smaller and easier gorge and has a visible path in all the route.

There are toilets and 1 area for water along the route. 

Agia Irini gorge is a lot more accessible for younger children. Just keep in mind that you might need to add more time and a lot more stops in your route.

There are toilets located in the middle of the route in Agia Irini Gorge.

At the Summer months they have a small fee (2 euro), which is used for the maintenance of the Gorge.

After you finish your hiking of Agia Irini Gorge you end up near Sougia.

From here you can 

walk the distance to Sougia (4.5 km). Keep in mind that the road is not shaded on the most part,

Get a Agia Irini taxi back to Sougia, Chania or to any destination you wish.

Agia Irini Gorge is open all year around, but there are cases of heavy rainfall or extreme weather conditions, that the entry to the public might be forbidden for your own safety.

Agia Irini Gorge is considerably easier than Samaria Gorge. The difference is that it is a lot smaller and in the most part shaded.

Preparation tips for your Agia Irini Gorge visit

You can always start the gorge and head back after the first km or so. Its really up to you and there is nothing stopping you from doing it. There are some spots that are ideal for instagram photos!

A typical open time is at 07.30 in the morning and the stated closing time is at 20.00 on the afternoon.

Agia Irini Gorge is 42.9 km away from Chania

  • Your water bottle, that you can refill on the way. It is very important to keep hydrated.
  • Sun cream and a hat or a hoodie tshirt for protection from the sun especially for the end of the trail that has very little shade
  • Some food as fruits and light snack as there is no food available inside the National Park.
  • Good shoes nwith notched soles so you dont sleep on the steep path.
  • Some plasters in case of blisters.
  • an extra pair of socks
  • some medicine for bees and wasps bites
  • some extra pairs of comfy clothing
  • Climbing canes can be usefull for the first 3 km of steep descend.
  • Beach towel and swimwear in case you feel like swimming in Agia Roumelo beach at the end of the gorge.
  • Charged cell phones in order to contact someone if needed. Be aware that there are only a couple of points that you get reception, so you should make any arrangements and prebook your Samaria taxi in advance.

From any other city than Chania you have the following options.

You can either catch a public bus to Chania at an early time, so you then can catch the morning bus from Chania.

Rent a car and drive to Agia Irini Gorge and on the way back book a transfer to the top of Agia Irini gorge.

Or book your transfer to Agia Irini Gorge from any city and have us pick you up from the door of your hotel!

Agia Irini Gorge is less challenging, but still a good physical state is advised. You will feel your legs extremely tired on the next few days if you are not used to hiking. Still this is the reason to leave it on the last days of your vacation, so you can get your rest on the plane back home.

Besides any health problems, you should follow precisely the instructions provided by the park rangers and the warning signs and you should not deviate from the main path for any reason.