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Greece

Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Ηρακλείου

Matala Rock Formations – View over Matala Bay loop from Mátala

Routes

Hiking trails & Routes

Greece

Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Ηρακλείου

Matala Rock Formations – View over Matala Bay loop from Mátala

Easy

4.6

(344)

1,092

hikers

Matala Rock Formations – View over Matala Bay loop from Mátala

01:58

6.56km

190m

Hiking

Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: July 29, 2026

Tips

Temporary access restrictions

Includes segments with temporary access restrictions.

After 82 m for 134 m

Customers only

After 6.35 km for 134 m

Customers only

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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1.83 km

View of the Libyan Sea from Rocky Cliffs

Highlight • Viewpoint

2.67 km

View of Kommos Beach and Mount Ida

Highlight • Viewpoint

The beginning of the path at the Mystical view is somewhat hidden. Right past the fenced and right past the bush. Something end and exposed

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2.71 km

View of Sunset Beach Kalamaki and Parking Area

Highlight • Viewpoint

From the parking lot you have a fantastic view over the entire bay to the white mountains. In the evening, the "Elephant Island" is an eye-catcher in the backlight.
This …

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2.74 km

View of Kommos Beach and the Psiloritis Mountains

Highlight (Segment) • Viewpoint

You can do a great circular hike with a view of Matala via Kommos Beach.
My tour: "From Kommos Beach over the cliffs to Matala 🅿️⭕👍"

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3.49 km

Matala Rock Formations

Highlight • Natural Monument

After about 1.8 km you have this magnificent view, over to the other coast and these limestone rock formations. Always impressive what wind and water have for power to bring out these beautiful shapes.

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4.03 km

Cove at the limestone cliffs

Highlight • Beach

A little secret - the bay is ideal for a short swim stop during the hike to the panoramic view over Matala. So be sure to take bathing suits with …

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4.06 km

Limestone with fossils

Highlight (Segment) • Natural Monument

Here you walk along the limestone slabs near the sea. Definitely pay attention to the ground. Fossils are plentiful in the limestone - hundreds of fossilized shells and other sea creatures from ancient times. Very impressive!

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5.09 km

View over Matala Bay

Highlight • Viewpoint

Here you have a great view over the bay of Matala. One stands directly over the famous caves of Matala - a descent is however not possible. The way there …

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6.56 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

4.83 km

1.46 km

279 m

Surfaces

5.26 km

533 m

321 m

192 m

125 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (110 m)

Lowest point (10 m)

Weather

Sunday 9 August

32°C

27°C

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Comments

April 26, 2024,🇬🇷 Kreta: Matala zum Red Beach 🏖️

🏝️ Beach day to my liking; the many fossils were special. Technical difficulties only caused by an Aperol Spritz 🍸 and a Caipirinha 🍹 but everything was mastered 😅.
Including chilling, it probably takes 5 hours 😎 gross. 2.5 are just walking time.

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May 16, 2023,🇬🇷Matala -Hippiedorf 🌈✌️

The small village on Crete's south coast is not a typical holiday resort - it is the cult and hippie capital of Crete. In the 1960s, hippies from all over the world made the spectacular Neolithic caves right on the beach their home for a huge community and made Matala famous.
The hippies have had a strong visual impact on …

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September 5, 2023,Matala mit Wohnhöhlen und Küstenwanderung 👍

First we went to the hippie village of Matala, we were there very early and there wasn't much going on 👍 The village is nice when it's busy, but in the afternoon it's overcrowded and pure tourism. The caves are cool, they cost €4 to enter and there are no real paths, but if you climb a bit it's fun …

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November 5, 2023,Kreta - Matala

Today we took a great trip to Matala.
The famous village with the cave dwellings, where the hippies lived during the flower power era in the 60s and 70s, is an absolute cult site on Crete. Famous artists such as Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens have also lived in these caves.
First we did a nice scramble on the rocky …

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April 13, 2023,Kreta - Keine Hippies, nur Touris 😜 Runde von Matala

Matala was once a hippie paradise in the 1960s, now the hippies have disappeared and been replaced by tourists. Nevertheless, the place has a certain charm. The trek above the Matala Caves was more challenging than expected. The circular route contains a number of pathless passages and the part after the tavern "Mystical View" is sometimes quite close to the …

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April 20, 2023,Matala Klippenrundweg. Kreta im Frühling

Flower Power - Matala was once a dropout paradise. The myth lives, even without hippies. We meet friendly Greeks who are happy that the season is starting.

We start from the main street. The way is not signposted. Sometimes red paint markings on rocks help us. Reading tracks helps best. But you can't get too far lost. The views from …

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June 11, 2025,Kreta 7️⃣ 》 69./2025 🏖🇬🇷⛰️ Mátala

Today's destination was the famous former hippie village of Mátala in the south of the island. Before we enjoyed the beach there with its striking cliffs and the infamous hippie caves, we first hiked the panoramic trail marked by Komoot as an "Easy Hike with Easily Walkable Paths (T1)." So, the whole thing wasn't exactly easy, which, in my opinion, …

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May 28, 2025,Kommos-Beach -- Matala-Beach: an der Steilküste entlang

A short tour between Kommos and Matala. A shorter tour because it looked like rain in the middle of it... looked like rain. Wonderful views along the cliffs. A beautiful bay for a sunbathing stop, and then fossils. My heart leaps. The view of Matala is the highlight, and the landscape follows: barren but beautiful. Rosemary, thyme, oregano bushes. The …

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Matala Rock Formations – View over Matala Bay loop from Mátala

View of the Libyan Sea from Rocky Cliffs

View of Kommos Beach and Mount Ida

View of Sunset Beach Kalamaki and Parking Area

View of Kommos Beach and the Psiloritis Mountains

Matala Rock Formations

Cove at the limestone cliffs

Limestone with fossils

View over Matala Bay

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