# Mylonas Gorge & Waterfall: The Honest Guide to the Falls Above Agia Fotia

> A short walk through pine woods on the coast east of Ierapetra to the biggest of the Mylonas gorge's waterfalls — easy from below, a technical canyon above, and at its best in winter and spring.

- Canonical URL: https://honestcrete.com/guides/mylonas-waterfall-and-gorge-honest-guide/
- Author: Neratzia (Honest Crete, Heraklion)
- Area: East Crete · Category: Day trips
- Last field-checked: October 2026 · Updated: 2026-10-18 · Published: 2026-10-18
- Coordinates: 35.0358, 25.8449
- How to cite: "Honest Crete — Mylonas Gorge & Waterfall: The Honest Guide to the Falls Above Agia Fotia (field-checked October 2026), https://honestcrete.com/guides/mylonas-waterfall-and-gorge-honest-guide/"
- About the source: field-checked guides to Crete by two Heraklion-based locals. Prices are hedged ranges in EUR; small businesses are kept anonymous; editorial is never paid for and advertising is clearly labelled. Method: https://honestcrete.com/how-we-check/

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The Mylonas waterfall is an easy big waterfall to reach: a turn off the coast road east of Ierapetra, a few minutes on a dirt track, then fifteen or twenty minutes through pine woods to a fall dropping into a small pool. That is the whole visit for most people, and a good one — in the right season. The fall is a winter and spring thing; in late summer it is reported to run much lower. The gorge above it is not a walk but a canyon that needs ropes. Described from our own visits; distances, heights and conditions are a check of published sources, October 2026.

**The honest facts**

- **Where:** the gorge drops from Agios Ioannis (about 500 m) on the Thrypti massif to Kakia Skala beach; the [Municipality of Ierapetra](https://ierapetra.gr/index.php/en/nature/143-mylonas-canyon) puts it about 18 km east of the town.
- **The walk:** signposted turn on a sharp bend near Kakia Skala, about 5 minutes of dirt track, then 15–20 minutes each way on foot; easy.
- **The waterfall:** published heights disagree — 20 m according to the municipality, about 40 m in regional walking guides; small pool at the base.
- **Water:** strongest in winter, spring and after heavy rain; lower in late summer by most accounts.
- **Above the fall:** further waterfalls on the way down from Agios Ioannis — canyoning equipment only.
- **Cost:** no fee in any official source.
- **Fire-season order:** the gorge is not named; the Thrypti area above it is (category 4 and 5).

## The walk to the falls

The turn is on the main road east from Ierapetra towards Ferma and Makrigialos, near the small beach of Kakia Skala; regional guides warn it sits on a steep bend, so slow down well before it. A dirt track runs a few minutes inland to the path.

From there the route climbs gently along the pine-covered east side of the gorge rather than in the stream bed. The last section follows an old channel that once carried the gorge's water down to Koutsounari village. The [Greek National Tourism Organisation](https://www.visitgreece.gr/en/experiences/nature/gorges/gorges-of-ierapetra) calls it brief, easy and suitable for families. The path ends below the fall at a small, clear pool.

*Photo: The main fall of the Mylonas gorge, photographed in March*

## When it is worth it

Timing is everything. The municipality says that the waterfall is at its most impressive in winter and after heavy rain, and walking sources add that after storms a second fall can appear to the left of the main one. Spring is the reliable window, and one regional source names it the best season. By August and September the flow is reported to drop, and a visitor who has seen the winter photographs may find far less water. If the waterfall is the point, go between roughly December and May, a day or two after rain rather than during it.

## The parts that are not a walk

The gorge is longer than the walk. It starts high up at Agios Ioannis, and the bed is interrupted by four waterfalls by one regional count, the walk's fall being the last and largest; the section above it needs canyoning equipment. Some walking sites describe a longer route down the whole gorge; it is a separate undertaking, not an extension of the waterfall walk.

On the easy route, the risks are the ordinary gorge ones. Rock near the fall is wet and slippery all year. Regional guides warn that heavy rain in recent years has damaged paths in many Cretan gorges, so check conditions. Do not go in during heavy rain, when the stream can rise quickly, and keep children back from the pool's edge and the base of the fall.

*Photo: The pool at the foot of the fall — how much water reaches it depends on the winter*

## Fire season and Thrypti

The Mylonas gorge is not named in the Region of Crete's [fire-season order of 16 June 2026](https://www.crete.gov.gr/politiki-prostasia-perifereias-kritis-proliptiki-apagoreysi-dieleysis-paramonis-kai-kykloforias-prosopon-kai-ochimaton-se-eypatheis-perioches-sto-nisi-kata-ti-diarkeia-tis-antipyrikis-periodoy-2026/). It does list Thrypti, the mountain the gorge falls from, for closure on category 4 and 5 fire-risk days (residents and workers exempt). The Region's published map draws the Thrypti zone as a line higher up, a few kilometres north of the waterfall walk; a line is not a boundary, so on orange and red days check the [fire-risk map and alerts](https://honestcrete.com/guides/heat-wildfires-and-the-112-alerts-in-crete/) and ask locally before setting off.

## The day around it

The waterfall is an hour's outing, so pair it. The coves of [Ferma and Agia Fotia](https://honestcrete.com/guides/ferma-and-agia-fotia-honest-guide/) are a few minutes along the same road, which makes a morning walk and an afternoon swim the obvious shape. [Ierapetra](https://honestcrete.com/guides/ierapetra-and-chrissi-honest-guide/) is a short drive west for lunch on the promenade. For a second gorge, the [Sarakina gorge above Myrtos](https://honestcrete.com/guides/sarakina-gorge-and-mythi-honest-guide/) lies west of town, and the [Butterfly gorge at Koutsouras](https://honestcrete.com/guides/koutsouras-and-the-butterfly-gorge/) is further east along the coast.

**The honest downside**

The star of the walk is seasonal: in late summer, when most visitors are on this coast, the waterfall can run far lower than the photographs suggest. The walk is short, so a long drive for it alone is hard to justify, the turn is on a bend that needs care, and the rock by the pool is slippery in every season.

**The verdict.** **Worth it if:** you are staying between Ierapetra and Makrigialos between late autumn and spring and want an easy, shaded walk to real falling water, ideally a day or two after rain.
**Skip it if:** it is August and the weather has been dry, you were hoping for a long gorge hike, or you were tempted by the canyon above the fall without equipment and a guide.

*Disclosure:* Photos on this page: both of the Mylonas waterfall by C messier (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons, resized for the web. Described from our own visits; distances, access, rules and any figures were checked against the Municipality of Ierapetra, the Greek National Tourism Organisation's Visit Greece site, the Region of Crete's 2026 fire-season order and its published restriction map, and regional walking 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.

## Quick answers

**How long is the walk to the Mylonas waterfall?**

The usual walk to the Mylonas waterfall takes about 15–20 minutes each way from the end of a short dirt track off the coast road east of Ierapetra. The path follows the pine-wooded east side of the gorge and finishes along an old water channel. The Greek National Tourism Organisation describes it as brief and easy.

**How high is the Mylonas waterfall?**

Published figures disagree. The Municipality of Ierapetra gives the waterfall reached on the usual walk as 20 m high, regional walking guides put it at about 40 m, and the Greek National Tourism Organisation says only “dozens of metres”. Regional guides describe it as the last and largest of the Mylonas gorge's waterfalls.

**When does the Mylonas waterfall have water?**

The Mylonas waterfall is at its most impressive in winter, in spring and after heavy rain; the Municipality of Ierapetra says so directly, and after big storms a second fall can appear beside the main one. In late summer the flow is reported to drop, though one regional guide says the gorge has water all year; time a visit for the wet half of the year.

**Where does the Mylonas gorge walk start?**

The Mylonas gorge runs from the village of Agios Ioannis, at about 500 m, down to Kakia Skala beach on the coast road east of Ierapetra. The waterfall walk starts from a signposted turn on a sharp bend of that road near Kakia Skala, followed by a few minutes on a dirt track; the Municipality places the gorge about 18 km east of Ierapetra.

**Is the Mylonas gorge closed on high fire-risk days?**

The Mylonas gorge is not named in the Region of Crete's fire-season order of 16 June 2026. The order does list Thrypti, the mountain the gorge falls from, for closure on category 4 and 5 days; on the Region's published map that zone sits higher up, north of the waterfall walk. On those days check locally before walking.

## Mylonas waterfall and the coast below

**The waterfall walk**
- Agia Fotia (the coast road) (35.0245, 25.8748)
- Mylonas waterfall (35.0358, 25.8449)