water
The source0 m
In winter a stream runs through the Agia Irini gorge and empties quietly into the Libyan Sea at Sougia.
By May the stream has mostly disappeared. But the gorge remains: a corridor of stone connecting the mountains to the shore. Then the sea floor drops away steeply from the shoreline, and within a few metres the water shifts from turquoise to a deep, saturated blue.
The stream arriving from the mountains
The shallows at your feet
The dark blue further out
Turquoise at your feet, deep blue a few metres out.
After the first rainOctober
For most of the year the riverbed above Sougia is a road of dry white stones. This October the first heavy rain turned it into a river again, loud, brown and fast.
We filmed it from the bridge on the road to Agia Irini. Few visitors ever see it, which is one more reason to come in autumn.
A few days laterMorning
A few days after the rain the river was still running. In the early morning it crossed the beach, spread over a bar of sand and met the waves of the Libyan Sea.
Ways to be in the watereight of them
More than a kilometre of pebbles with deep water close to shore. Calm most days, rarely crowded, even in August.
A Blue Flag beach in 2025 and 2026, with a Sea Access seat that takes wheelchair users into the water. Read about the beach
Good to know
The naturist area is at the eastern end of the beach.
Daily departures from the village harbour to hidden coves and to Lissos, along a stretch of coast with no road at all.
A walk of about ninety minutes to a Hellenistic and Roman port with temple ruins and mosaics. In summer, a taxi boat makes the return easy.
The water clarity here is exceptional. Go in the morning, before the wind rises.
Good to know
There is no rental in the village. Bring your own mask, or ask us.
Roman Sougia was called Syia. Its aqueduct carried water about 8 km from a spring near Agios Pavlos; sections of the wall still stand along the road into the village.
Read the story
A ferry ride of about 40–50 minutes to the southern end of the Samaria gorge, with connections along the coast.
Read more
The southernmost point of Europe, about two hours by ferry in season. Stay the night.
Pink sand and a shallow lagoon you can wade across. Go early, or late.
Opening planned for 2027Register your interest
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