Zonari – Neraidogoula Cave

It is another unknown but beautiful route in the forest of Selakano. This time we will cross a large section in the southern part of the forested valley of Selakano.
The access to the starting point of the hike is via a dirt road from Metaxochori and a vehicle that can cope with a dirt road of moderate condition is required. There is also access by a dirt road, from the south, from the village of Riza and further through the settlement of Karydi, but the last 1.5 km is in bad condition.

We leave the vehicle at the starting point (see the map below) which is on the Zonari stream, which stream a little further down forms a canyon that can only be crossed by someone with technical equipment. The Zonari stream ends up joining the Myrtos river which passes through the beautiful Sarakina gorge.

From this point and already at an altitude of 750m we start and walk on a dirt road (which is not recorded on Google maps) that heads northwest, through the Zonari stream. The forest presents us with amazing sights and smells as we climb into a beautiful environment with pines and privets scattered along the stream bed.

The route on the dirt road is about 4km long until its end, and at 1050m altitude, a well-formed and distinct path begins along its entire length, which leads us deeper into the heart of the forest.

This is the most impressive part of the route because we are moving completely under huge pine trees. The species of the tree is “spine pine”, which is found mainly on the leeward southern slopes of the great mountain ranges of Crete, where it is protected from the moisture of the northern winds. If you look in some places, on the north side of the trees, moss has grown, and this is where the best honey comes out, due to the fermentations, from the bite of a bacterium on the trunk of the tree.

In a little while we reach the highest point (1227m) of the route where we are at the intersection of 3 paths. The path with an eastern direction brings us after 150m to a place where the landscape forms a beautiful natural balcony at “Spyridou to Haraki” with an impressive view of the entire forest. The 2nd path descends in a direction initially north and then northeast and goes to Selakano settlement. The 3rd path heads south, goes for a while parallel to the stream of Linaras and in a short time we arrive in its bed where the Neraidogoulas cave is located at an altitude of 1221m.

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Apart from the E4 path, there are many great trails that are worth walking if you visit East Crete. Ancient tracks and stone paths that once were the main roads of the island, today are a magnet for nature lovers.

This trail is one of those…

The cave of Neraidogoula

Neraidogoula is a special cave that in the past, as the locals remember, during periods of heavy rainfall, impressive amounts of water washed out from the small hole of its entrance even in the summer season, after the melting of the snow on the highest peaks of the mountains.
The cave is located five hundred meters south of the “Stou Spyridou to Haraki” location, near the source of Psychros, at an altitude of 1,227 m, in the bed of a ravine that creates the stream of Linaras on the north-eastern side of Psari Madara (south part of Lassithi Mountain range), and is considered to be an underground river.

Locating its entrance is a bit difficult, even though there are signs, mainly because it is very small and does not suggest the existence of a large cave inside. To enter Neraidogoula today, after finding its narrow entrance, one must crawl for a few meters and pass the first small room and through the second slightly larger hole enter the main cave, in a impressive hall of large dimensions. In the background is a small lake fed by the waters of the subterranean river, which runs constantly, which is evidenced by the constant deafening rumble of the movement of the water.

Stalactites

On the ceiling of the cave are stalactites (the larger ones are broken), the floor is covered with a large layer of dried mud, which has been carried by the huge quantities of water that pass through when the underground river floods. The place really awes you.

Dirt road at Zonari stream – End of the dirt road : 1h 10min.

Start of the mountain trail – Path junction at Psichrou spring : 1 hour

Spring – Psichrou spring – Neraidgoula cave : 15 min

Path junction at Psichrou spring – Selakano Village : 1h 30min

Initial elevation (m): 740
Maximum elevation (m): 1227
Minimum elevation (m): 740

Additional Info

Altitude: Lowest point : 740m (Zonari stream-dirt road) – Highest point: 1271m Psichrou Spring

Starting Point: Dirt road at Zonari stream (between Metaxochori and Karydi villages)

Path Type: At the beginning (4km) parts of dirt road – After on mountain path – marks on trees

Difficulty: Moderate

Walk distance: 8,2 km : 2,5 – 3 hours