Bufanis Gorge, Selakano Valley

The hike starts from the picturesque settlement of Metaxochori at 550m altitude. The approach to this settlement is from Ierapetra – Myrtos – Males – Metaxochori and is 28km or about 45 minutes driving. The Malles-Metaxochori section is particularly impressive since the road hangs over the eastern exit of the Bufani gorge.

In Metaxochori we start from the church of Agios Nikolaos which is located in the thinnest part of the village and for 1 km we walk on an old abandoned dirt road that leads us to the forest and inside the gorge from its southern side.

Just before the end of the road we will see on our left the path that clearly begins to climb the slope in a westerly direction.

We continue to follow the old path that unfolds high above the left side of the canyon, enjoying the unique view of the canyon below us with the imposing formations of the surrounding rocks. From the moment we enter the forest, we walk permanently in the shade, under the dense, towering pines.

All the way the path is well formed, well signposted and you will hardly get confused whether you decide to head to Selakano (north-east) or to the settlement of Mino (south and south-east).

The gorge is called Bufani, but it is also called Gypaetons or Psoriari. So after entering the forest of Selakano for good, we quickly climb to an altitude and soon we reach the source of the water where the crossing we mentioned earlier is. It goes southwest to Skafida and north to Selakano village, which route we also followed.

The source is also the highest point of the route (979m) and from that point we go up and down the smaller ravines of the forest until shortly, still in this amazing forest, we will see the first houses of Selakano village.