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About 15 km from Chora Sfakion, westwards and up in the mountains, only 2 km past the village of Anopolis, there used to be Aradena, a small picturesque village. Unfortunately in 1947, the village was deserted due to the old Mediterranean custom of vendetta. For years goats and sheep have been the only living creatures wandering around the ruins of the houses. The only well-preserved building has been the 14th-century church of Archangel Michael.
Only recently Aradena has returned to life. It was in 1986 when a strong metal bridge was built by a member of the rich local Vardinogiannis family to join the two sides of the Aradena gorge. Till then all the inhabitants of Agios Ioannis, a small village 4 km further in the mountains, had to climb down and up the snaky path across the gorge to come into contact with the rest of the world.
Today lots of tourists and nature-lovers visit the place. From the 140-metre high bridge you can admire the breathtaking view over Aradena Gorge and try your courage with bungee jumping. If you like walking and hiking you can climb down the gorge and walk along it until you reach the sea in about 3 hours.
Or if you fall in love with the place as a lot of people have, you can walk on dozens of trails in the mountains around you including the trail to Pachnes, the highest peak of the White Mountains. The most suitable person to give you all the necessary information is Antonis, the owner of the small wooden canteen by the bridge.
The cache
Leave your car at the car park by the bridge, at N 35 13.373 and E 024 03.716. The cache is situated 400m away.
From there take the path through the ruins of the village, past the old Archangel Michael church and towards Aradena gorge. The path is well marked with red paint. When you reach the asphalt don’t hesitate to open the metal gate and pass through; it is there to prevent goats – not humans - from entering the area, so don’t forget to close it behind you. Next to the entrance to Aradena gorge, there is an old ruined house, a couple of big trees and old dry-stone walls that mark the area where the cache is hidden.
The cache is a plastic container wrapped in a plastic bag. It contains a logbook, two pens, the Geocaching note in English and Greek and some goodies to trade.
