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Σπήλαιο Σφενδόνη 17

Greece Greece Show cave

Sfendoni Zoniana Cave

16 °C inside, all year.

Show caveStalactites

See the descentHow to visit

Vgargan · CC BY-SA 4.0

The descent

The entrance, at 644 m.

The real relief above Sfendoni Zoniana Cave, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.

depth not publishedEntrance1,052 m1.0 kmvertical × 3.3depth not publishedEntrance1,052 m1.0 kmvertical × 7.2

The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey. No depth has been published for this cave yet.

644m

Entrance altitude

from the 30 m relief model

16°C

Inside, all year

the yearly average outside, at the entrance

193m

Rock above

the highest point within 1.5 km

Inside and outside

16 °C inside, all year.

Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 16 °C here, in January and in August. In August the afternoon reaches 24 °C at the entrance, 9 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket.

outside, at the entrance (644 m)inside
  1. 11°8°Jan
  2. 11°8°Feb
  3. 13°9°Mar
  4. 15°11°Apr
  5. 19°14°May
  6. 22°18°Jun
  7. 24°20°Jul
  8. 24°21°Aug
  9. 23°19°Sep
  10. 19°16°Oct
  11. 16°13°Nov
  12. 12°10°Dec
Inside: 16 °C all yearWettest: Nov–Feb

Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.

Cave in Greece

Sfendoni Zoniana Cave is a show cave in Greece. The entrance is at 644 m. It has stalactites and stalagmites. It is open to visitors.

Getting there.

  • Show cave: open to visitorsHours in OpenStreetMap: Mo-Su 10:00-17:00 · ticket required
  • Zonianánearest town · 1.1 km in a straight line
  • Parking 240 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.0 km from the entrance
  • Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 31 km in a straight lineCar hire at HER airport (Heraklion)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

Guided tours, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above.

The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.

The ground above Sfendoni Zoniana Cave (Sentinel-2) N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the entrance.

  • 1other cave entrances within 3 kmΣπήλαιο Σφενδόνη
  • 1viewpoints within 3 km
  • 1marked hiking routes within 3 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete
  • 1car parks within 2 km
  • 6hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmEnagron, Aris, Marina and 3 more
  • 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • springs within 2 km
  • sinkholes within 3 km
  • caving clubs and spots within 15 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 3 km
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • campsites within 8 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Zonianá1.1 km in a straight line
  • Anógeia4.1 km in a straight line
  • Pérama15 km in a straight line
  • Krousón15 km in a straight line
  • Tílisos16 km in a straight line
  • Káto Asítai18 km in a straight line
  • Pánormos19 km in a straight line
  • Agía Foteiní19 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Sfendoni Zoniana Cave.

The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.

Peakyas30 mountains within 10 km
Mounda · 3.5 kmKourouna · 7.6 kmKouloukonas Oŕos · 8.4 kmSitaras · 8.6 kmKoiti · 9.1 kmVouloumenou · 9.4 kmKousakas · 9.6 kmMesosfina · 10 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather outside, at the entrance.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon111113151922242423191612
Afternoon111113151922242423191612
Night889111418202119161310
Rain (mm)887542221552418465886
Rainy days16131064211491115
Sun hours/day4.14.87.08.710.412.212.211.29.47.15.23.7
AfternoonAfternoonNightRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan11118884.1
Feb11118754.8
Mar13139427.0
Apr151511228.7
May1919141510.4
Jun222218512.2
Jul242420212.2
Aug242421411.2
Sep232319189.4
Oct191916467.1
Nov161613585.2
Dec121210863.7

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (644 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Inside and around.

Σπήλαιο Σφενδόνη 9827
C messier · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jaskinie na Krecie
Travelbay · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ανάκτορο Σπήλαιο Σφενδόνη 9835
C messier · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020121%67%148%141%70%194%——147%108%153%79%
202174%98%122%177%62%233%——78%142%68%151%
202298%136%253%63%62%233%——117%89%76%41%
202377%73%102%111%227%456%——145%26%57%75%
2024118%68%48%29%102%44%——133%19%50%148%
202551%106%67%203%172%17%——40%71%113%106%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Caves nearby.

Sfendoni Zoniana Cave

Greece

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 644 mEntrance altitude
  • 16 °CInside, all year

Idaean Cave

Greece · 10 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 1,511 mEntrance altitude
  • 11 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Cave of Melidoni

Greece · 14 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 226 mEntrance altitude
  • 18 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Kamares Cave

Greece · 14 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 1,694 mEntrance altitude
  • 9 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length, visitorsWikidata (Q9713830) · CC0
The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.You are here
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit
forestsForestyaEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit