Walking the Akrotiri Monastery Katholiko Trail, Crete
Descending to the monastery
Start & Finish: Gouverneto Monastery, Chania 731 00, Greece
Distance: 2.8 km (1.7 miles)
Elevation change: +/- 164m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Katholiko-Stavros
Links: Akrotiri, Agia Triada Monastery, Gouverneto Monastery, Arkoudiotissa Cave
The Akrotiri Peninsular, not to be confused with the one in Cyprus, sticks out of the north coast of Crete to the east of Chania. We took a day trip at the end of our holiday to drive round the edge and visit the beaches. The monasteries in the mountains to the north are worth a visit as is the short but steep walk to the Katholiko ruins. The Katholiko was opened in the 11th century and abandoned in the 16th century due to pirate raids.
To get to the walk, drive to the Holy Trinity (Agia Triada) Tzagaroli Monastery. This is an interesting place to stop and visit the church and museum. From here follow the road for 4.2 km to the car park next to the Gouverneto Monastery. This monastery was closed when we got there so we did the walk to the Katholiko first.
There’s a very obvious path from the monastery down to the ruins. After 1km you’ll reach the Arkoudospilio Cave, also known as the Bear Cave. The name comes from the large bear-shaped stalagmite that is ready to drink water. The legend is that the Virgin Mary turned the bear that was stealing the water of the monks living nearby into stone.
After another 400m you’ll reach the ruins of the Katholiko Monastery. There’s another trail that we considered walking that joins from town of Stavros to the west. Another option is to descend further along the trail to the beach. Both options were tempting but it was a very hot day so an out-and-back from the Monastery to the Katholiko was enough for us.
The Gouverneto Monastery was just opening by the time we got back there at 17:00. We were just in time to observe the service in the church. If you visit note that you can’t enter wearing shorts but you can borrow a skirt at the entrance to cover your legs.
