Topolia Gorge – Chania west.
The gorge of Topolia (Topoliano) is located in the inland area of Kissamos, at the western end of the Chania prefecture. It begins at the village of Topolia and after approximately 1.500 metres exits at a verdant valley, next to Koutsomatados village. The walk down the gorge, which is fairly easy, requires about one hour and 10 minutes.
A lot of damage done to this walk in winter 2022. It was an easy path to walk previous years. Now an adventure walk/ scramble, great fun if you like walking, bouldering, climbing, scrambling. All easily done if you have some experience, no ropes required.
You can also walk from Koutsomatados, park at the taverna there. Walk through the tiny village or go back over the bridge and the path is there immediately on the right. The scramble will take you around 3 hours to get to Topolia village with stops at a leisurely pace. Turn left over a river where there were lots of goats and sheep, up a steep dirt road this will take you to the village.
I wish you have a lovely lunch at topos&elia , great view and lovely little taverna. Headed back, easier on the way back, will take around 2 hours, will make the most of a few small bouldering opportunities as well. It is a scramble with some challenging climbing. Unless you are interested in bouldering and want a challenge, I strongly recommend that you avoid it in case you have kids with you or old people. There’s also a very limited bus service back to Topolia and taxis are expensive.
Hike from Koutsomatados to Topolia, find parking by the little bridge just off the main road. It doesn’t take long – 45-60 min at most, following the river downstream. The last 10 min are a climb up to Topolia where you can have lunch before venturing back the same way. The gorge is impressive though after recent heavy rain in early October there had been a lot of fresh rock fall. Proceed with caution. There are a few sections that run right underneath steep cliffs. Climbing helmet probably a good idea!
Wonderful gorge, not as overwhelming as Imbros or Samaria, but still worth a visit. I wouldn’t recommend starting your return trip in Topolia, seeing as when you return you’ll have to make a steep climb at the end. A better idea is to start near Koutsoumados and walking northwards. You can choose to climb to Topolia or just to return and visit Topolia by car later.
Exact coordinates for the start of this trip would be 35.405449, 23.682236. Free parking. Walk north towards the gorge for about 15 minutes.
Don’t know why this gorge doesn’t get more notice. There is a stop after the village of Topolia where you can stop just before the tunnel that has beautiful views up the gorge and to the wider area just before the gorge.
