Vigla canyon, east Crete

Overview

One of the vast canyons surrounding the Zakros village, east Crete

Getting There

The best is to go with a car from Zakros village using the road to the small church of Agios Giorgos. The road starts right at the end of the village. From the main road leading to Xerokambos turn right on a very steep concrete road leading up among olive trees, the dirt road starts after a few hundred meters. The dirt road is mostly in a good condition even for a smaller car. Park close to the church, but let there free room for turning big farmer´s cars. From this parking lot follow the path up to the canyon which you see above, you can follow small red dots sprayed on the rocks. There is a gate at the entrance, please don´t forget to close it. The path is about 15 minutes to reach the big cave, then 3 minutes to the left part of Katalava crag where are routes.

Route

Vigla canyon is situated about one kilometer from Zakros village. It is one of the canyons here that are more distant from the sea, unlike Dead Gorge or Katsounaki canyon in Xerokambos village. Due to this, it is windier there compared to those crags that are close to the sea and not so hot even in sunny summer days if you are in shade. Due to its orientation to the east and north-east the best time for climbing there in summer is in the afternoon. Limestone in Vigla canyon is excellent quality, it does not suffer from the presence of salty air which is typical for spots right at the sea.
Vigla belongs to a local group of crags surrounding the villages of Xerokambos and Zakros. There are at least ten canyons, that are close to each other and where climbing can be developed. Xerokambos has six of them, Zakros has three. Currently climbing is at the beginning here, only a tiny part of all possibilities is exploited.
This local cluster of crags has the potential to become one of the best climbing areas in Greece and this potential is still waiting to be discovered. Our Zakros team is working here hard, however, we are only a small group of climbers. We will be very happy to invite every climber to our team to help us with our effort.

Red Tape

Pitches that are currently done in Vigla canyon are in a sector called by locals Katalava. Routes are between 5b-7b, there is huge potential of another development, Tens, maybe hundreds of routes are waiting to be done there. Ready routes are done on leaning slabs to vertical walls, only sometimes slightly overhanging.

When to Climb

All year climbing is possible. The best months for climbing are April- June, and September- November.

Camping

There is no campsite in the east Crete. However, there is a lot of accommodation in private apartments and villas.

External Links

http://www.climbcrete.com/index.php?lokalita=6