Whitewater kayak Greece
Whitewater kayaking in Greece
| Author: Lena Grüb, S2S Pro-Team
Greece is a whitewater paradise, especially if you like remote streams in beautiful gorges. Canyon walls come in all colors and dimensions. In late spring, the whole thing – surrounded by lush green forests – offers a backdrop in a class of its own.
Despite the deep canyons, Greece is not only suitable for lovers of heavy whitewater. Most of the trails are in the easier to moderate range (a lot of WW around the 3rd degree of the whitewater scale). Daniel and I wanted to paddle a lot in order to start the local kayaking season warmed up and with more lard.
We were able to successfully ride many classics including Erymanthos, Krikellopottamos, Arachtos, Kallaritikos, Voidomatis, Milleapottamos and Aaos.
Admittedly, our holiday – as always when whitewater kayaking in Greece – involved a lot of long shuttling in winding terrain. The roads are not always paved. The bike is usually not the tool of choice here, because some shuttles by car are an hour one-way long. In addition, there are many dogs that like to hunt for tough calves.
The good thing about driving in Greece, however, is that you are usually in beautiful scenery and it never gets boring: sometimes a whole lane of the road is broken, sometimes you have to clear stones from the passage, sometimes you brake abruptly because of crossing flocks of sheep.
The Erymanthos was one of our first streams and we decided to line up all the sections right away. So about 30km of continuous white water awaited us, including a 4-person forced passage canyon. For WW3 and geology lovers, the lower section, the Conglomerate Canyon, is an absolute must!
One of our highlights was definitely the Milleapottamos, which we caught with a lot of water, so we were able to ride both sections in one go. In the Black Canyon we found fantastic white water with many boofs, beautiful tongues and great eddies to undercut. The only thing you shouldn't miss is the exit. An old picturesque stone bridge spans the river before it disappears between high walls into an impassable canyon.
An ancient stone bridge is also located on the Voidomatis, which is unparalleled in terms of water quality and overall whitewater experience. Right at the entrance, several cubic meters of turquoise water bubble from the springs. Later in the year, the river rises at these springs at the entrance. This time, however, some water came from above the Vikos.
Where to stay in Greece
Wild and beautiful sleeping places can be found almost everywhere in Greece. Of course, "leave nothing but footprints" should apply here. Since you can still clearly see the traces of the devastating forest fires of last summer, I would like to advise against campfires at this point. Instead of a barbecue evening, a visit to a taverna is recommended to end the paddling day perfectly.
River Information Greece White Water Kayaking
Information about Greek rivers can be found in the Greco canoe guides by Franz Bettinger. Since online water levels are hardly available, it is very helpful that Christoph Scheuermann initiates an annual WhatsApp group to be able to share assessments of water levels and current information with each other. That's when you realize how helpful the paddling community is!
Efkharisto! Thank you! And have fun paddling in Greece!
