Myli Gorge: The Honest Guide to Rethymno's Valley of Ruined Watermills
Eight kilometres from Rethymno, a green gorge full of abandoned watermills, rock chapels and springs — an easy downhill walk from Chromonastiri towards the coast, and one that the fire-season rules can close.
Myli is Rethymno’s easiest gorge and its most atmospheric: a green valley eight kilometres from town where water once turned the wheels of a whole village of mills, and where the ruins now stand among trees, springs and small chapels cut into the rock. The walk is mostly downhill, short enough for a morning, and needs nothing more than decent shoes and water. The catch is the fire season, when the gorge is closed on high-risk days. Distances, history and closures come from the Municipality of Rethymno, the Region of Crete, the Hellenic War Museum and mountaineering club sources, checked in September 2026; the walk is described from our own visits.
The honest facts
- Where
- about 8 km from Rethymno town, between the village of Chromonastiri above and the coast below.
- Length and time
- the Municipality calls it a very easy walk of about an hour; other sources give 2.5–4 km and 1.5–2.5 hours, depending on start, finish and stops.
- Descent
- roughly 360 m to 100 m from Chromonastiri, per a mountaineering club route.
- The mills
- a mill village of the Venetian era, working until the 1970s; one club counts about 30 mills, one restored.
- Closures
- closed on category 4 and 5 fire-risk days under the Region’s 2026 order (1 May–31 October).
- Above the gorge
- the War Museum branch at Chromonastiri, 09:00–19:00 April–October, 09:00–17:00 November–March.
The walk down
The usual route starts in Chromonastiri and follows a signed path down into the gorge. Within minutes the path drops into shade, and the first ruined mills appear along the stream: stone buildings, some roofless and overgrown, one restored. The path is well trodden and easy, with wooden rails and steps at the steeper sections; in summer the stream along the trail is mostly dry, though the springs at the chapels run all year.
The chapels are part of the pleasure: Agios Ioannis, built into the rock face, the Five Virgins with its spring, and Agia Paraskevi. Near Chromonastiri stands the Byzantine church of Agios Antonios. None of them is large; all of them are quiet.
Below the mills the gorge opens and the sea appears at the end of the valley. The Municipality suggests finishing towards Perivolia, on the coast just east of town, and taking the bus or walking back along the shore.
Chromonastiri and the War Museum
Chromonastiri, the village at the top, is worth half an hour of its own. The Hellenic War Museum runs a branch there in Villa Clodio, a Venetian villa dated to 1610; its published hours are 09:00–19:00 from April to October and 09:00–17:00 from November to March, closed on four major holidays. No ticket price is published, so treat it as a pleasant surprise rather than a plan.
Making it work
Go in the morning, when the gorge is coolest. Check the fire-risk map the evening before — on a category 4 or 5 day the gorge is closed by law. Getting to Chromonastiri without a car is the fiddly part: a walking source reports a local minibus from Rethymno at around €2 and 20 minutes, which we could not confirm on an official timetable, so a short taxi ride up and a walk down is the reliable version. If you are staying in Rethymno, it makes a natural half day alongside the old town and the town beach.
The honest downside
In high summer the stream is mostly dry and the gorge loses some of its magic; on high fire-risk days it is closed entirely. Some paths have been damaged by heavy rain in recent years, according to one walking source. And public transport to the top is unreliable enough that you may end up paying for a taxi.
Worth it if: you are in Rethymno and want an easy, shaded half-day walk with history along the way — especially in spring or autumn. Skip it if: it is a red fire-risk day, you want a dramatic high-walled gorge, or you are visiting in August expecting running water.
Photos on this page: the mill house, the waterfall pool and the view to the sea by Xxlstier (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons, resized for the web. The walk is described from our own visits; distances, history, museum hours and the fire-season closure were checked against the Municipality of Rethymno, the Region of Crete’s 2026 order, the Hellenic War Museum and mountaineering club sources for the date shown at the top of this guide. Nobody pays to be featured in a guide — no business, no sponsor, no paid mention, ever. Adverts, where they appear, are labelled as adverts.
-
The walk — Downhill from Chromonastiri through the abandoned mill village; the coast at Perivolia is the way back to town.
1 Chromonastiri → 2 Myli (the abandoned mill village) → 3 Rethymno town beach at Perivolia
Driving times are Google's own, without traffic, checked September 2026 — the shape of the day, not a promise. Allow more on mountain roads, and more again in August.
How far is Myli gorge from Rethymno?
About 8 km from Rethymno town, according to the Municipality of Rethymno. The walk runs from the village of Chromonastiri, above the gorge, down through the abandoned mill village of Myli towards the coast east of town.
How long does the Myli gorge walk take?
The Municipality calls it a very easy walk of about an hour. Other sources give 2.5 to 4 km and 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on where you start and finish and how long you stop, with a descent of roughly 260 metres from Chromonastiri.
What is there to see in Myli gorge?
The ruins of the watermill village that gave the gorge its name — mills of the Venetian era that worked until the 1970s, around thirty of them by one mountaineering club's count, one restored — plus small chapels including Agios Ioannis built into the rock, and springs.
Is Myli gorge closed on high fire-risk days?
Yes. The Region of Crete's 2026 fire-season order lists the Myli gorge among the areas closed to people and vehicles on days rated category 4 or 5 on the national fire-risk map, between 1 May and 31 October. Check the map the evening before.
What are the opening hours of the War Museum at Chromonastiri?
The Hellenic War Museum's branch at Chromonastiri, in a Venetian villa of 1610, lists 09:00–19:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 09:00–17:00 from 1 November to 31 March, closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December.
One email a month — only when something on this island actually changes. No spam, no partners, one-click unsubscribe. Read past issues before you decide.