Eligias Gorge - The White Mountains of Crete | Season 1 - Episode 18 (4K)

The White Mountains of Crete is a unique mountain range unlike any other in the world. At an altitude of 2000 meters they form an alpine desert, with an otherworldly scenery. The terrain is dark full of dips, potholes and craters, while the mountaintops are strikingly white, because of the limestone. This unique geological formations create a trully incredible lunar landscape, that enchants any who will hike there. Follow us on our journey to hike and explore the White Mountains of Crete. In the span of 20 episodes we will hike in the alpine desert, reach thhe most extraordinary peaks, visit their breathtaking gorges. Eligias is one of the 3 ''Master Gorges'' of the White Mountains! 3 difficult and demanding gorges! One could consider Eligias to be the easier of the three. First of all to get to the gorges' entrance takes a lot of time and effort, as it is located deep within the mountain range, at the area of Potamos. The easiest way to get there would be by taking the E4 trail from Xyloskalo (or Poria plateau for that matter, if you have a jeep to get there). The E4 is fairly paved and well marked and after 20 km with about 800m elevation you will find yourself in Potamos. You can camp there and enjoy the stars of The White Mountains as we did, or if you have the strengh, speed, stamina and above all time you can plan this hike in one day (I would argue that this is posible only during summer, when the days are long. Still you have to start before sunrise and move real quickly). I would not recommend to attempt this hike in one day if you haven't done it before. At the entrance of the gorge, up on the left side slopes you can find a plane crash, the remains of a Belgian Mirage. You can find its "twin" plane in the summit of Kaloros. The gorge itself is beautiful, with a cypress forrest , great geological formations and wild landscape. I would divide the gorge in 3 sections. The first one is wide, you walk amogst cypresses in a river like bed. Then at section 2 the gorge gets really narrow. This is by far the most beautiful section. But be careful! Here there is a cliff that poses a deadend! You can bypass this cliff as demostrated in the video. There is a specific point in the right hand side where a trail starts and bypasses the cliff. To return to the gorge you must decent a landslide. There is a rope to assist you. This narrow sections continues and there is a lot of climping down and manuevering around boulders and obstacles. Then you find yourself in a forrest of Pine trees. You stay close to the left hand side and climb a small hill. Then you will find a trail that eventually will take you through the last section of the gorge down and out to the beach of Eligias and the Lybian Sea. You will be 2km to the east of Agia Roumeli. Note that there is a trail that connects the last section of the gorge with Agios Ioannis Village. Attention! Only attemp this hike if you are experienced and in an excellent physical shape! Carrying equiptment to camp all this distance and maneuvering the obstacle inside the gorge takes skill and effort. Wikiloc Trail : https://el.wikiloc.com/oreibasia-diad... Music by Ben Bohmer Instagram Page : https://www.instagram.com/johnkasiola... Facebook Page :   / johnkasiolas9   If you liked this video and would like to support me you can buy a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/jkasiolas You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel so as to not miss any following episodes and also enjoy more videos from Crete, Greece and other places. 0:00 Opening Theme 0:33 Intro 01:08 Xyloskalo to Potamos 03:49 Camp at Potamos 04:55 The Plane Crash 05:25 1rst Section of the Gorge 05:55 2nd Section of the Gorge 07:05 THE BYPASS 09:15 2nd Section of the Gorge 10:50 3rd Section of the Gorge 11:36 Outro