| On the road from Rethymno to the Preveli monastery you pass the Kourtaliotiko gorge, which is often referred to only as Kourtaliotis. The gorge lies between the mountains Kouroupa (984 m) to the west and Xiro Oros (904 m) to the east. |
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At the bottom of the 3 km long gorge runs the river Megalos Potamos (The Big River), which flows into the sea at the Preveli beach. | |||
| The gorge seen from the south | ||||
| Along the road leading through the gorge there are several parking areas, from which you can enjoy the magnificent gorge with its 600 m high slopes. |
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name of the gorge has its origin in the Cretan word kourtala meaning
"round of applause". This refers to the sounds that are created when
the sometimes very strong wind tears through the gorge.
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A little inside the gorge an Agia Kyriaki church is partly built into the rocks. | |||
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The church has a special iconostasis, which, unlike others, is not made of wood. |
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Further along the road 258 steps lead down to a church consecrated to St. Nikolaos the Kourtaliotis. | |||
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Usually the northern part of the gorge is dry during summer, |
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| but close to the church water gushes out from five springs in the rock. The myth has it that the springs came to life, when Nikolaos touched the rock with his hand. |
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When it rains, the whole river bed turns into a raging torrent that easily sweeps boughs and trees away. | |||
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This might create problems further to the south, where an old bridge from 1850 leads over the river. |
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