Ha Canyon

Ha canyon lies near Ierapetra in the Thrypti range, Lasithi. One of the three most famous technical canyons in Crete alongside Arvi and Portela, and considered among the ten most beautiful in Europe, attracting ~300 visitors a year.

Created by an active fault that raised the mountain ~300m in platy crystalline limestone — a textbook example of canyon formation. The V-shaped profile with walls up to 300m is visible from as far away as Agios Nikolaos. Length 1.5km, altitude drop 230m (entrance at 370m, exit at 140m), ~30 rappels, longest 35m.

In its final third, the Mastoras lateral gorge pours in a 215m waterfall — the largest in Crete — secured on 03.02.2008 by Yiannis Bromirakis, Katerina Hatzidimitriou, Maya Hristodoulaki and Savas Paragkamian. Ha is typically dry before this point and runs with heavy water after it.

The name comes from the Greek verb haskō — “to gape open.”