Agia Eirini (''Αγία Ειρήνη'') is a small community in Western

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, population 80 (2011 census). It lies in the Chania regional unit which constitutes the western part of Crete. It is in the municipality of

Kantanos-Selino Kantanos-Selino ( el, Κάντανος-Σέλινο) is a municipality in Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. It is numbered 4 on the map of the Chania region. The seat of the municipality is the village of Palaiochora. The municipality has an ar ...

, which forms the southwest part of the region, specifically the

East Selino East Selino ( el, Ανατολικό Σέλινο) is a former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kantanos-Selino, of which it is a municipal unit. The mun ...

unit, and the community of Epanochori.

Description

The importance of Agia Eirini lies in that constitutes the north end of the

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

that takes its name from this village. The gorge is popular with trekkers, bringing tourists north from the beach resort of

Sougia Sougia ( el, Σούγια) is a community and a small village in Chania regional unit on the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of East Selino (''Anatoliko Selino''). It is located on the south coast of the island, 70 ...

where it ends. The valley itself continues some distance north of the village to the watershed dividing north and southern Crete. After pausing at Agia Eirini, the walk continues east to Omalos.Randonnée en Crète n°35: Soughia - Omalos par la gorge d'Aghia-Irini
The village lies on the road from

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

to Sougia, 40 km south of Chania at an altitude of 650m, located at the foot of Apopigadi, south of Prases (in neighbouring Mousouroi,

Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platania ...

) on the north side of the pass, just past where the road branches east to

Omalos Omalos ( el, Ομαλός) is a small village in western Crete, in the Mousouroi unit of the Chania region. The Greek word Ομαλός means even, plain, regular, or smooth, referring to the plateau. Description Omalos is situated at the nort ...

at the

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

line on the ridge, and just north of Epanochori itself. Agia Eirini is nested between two smaller settlements, Koulouridiana to the north and Livadhaki to the south. The inhabitants are engaged in farming. Local produce includes chestnuts, honey and mournoraki (''μουρνόρακη''), a local drink.

External links

Wikimapia: Agia Eirini
The + marks the entrance to the gorge
Mapcarta: Agia EiriniGTP: Agia Irini

References

Populated places in Chania (regional unit) {{Crete-geo-stub