About Edessa Waterfalls (Καταρράκτες της Έδεσσας)
The Edessa Waterfalls (or Καταρράκτες της Έδεσσας in Greek) was the lone waterfall excursion of our 2010 visit to Greece.
It was really a series of waterfalls (seven according to the literature though we didn’t see anywhere close to that amount).
These waterfalls consisted of the so-called Great Waterfall (called Karanos or Ο Καταρράκτης Κάρανος) and the Twin Waterfall (called Diplos or Dihalotos or Ο διπλός καταρράκτης) according to the signs and the literature that we picked up during our visit.
It was this multi-waterfall nature of the attraction that prompted my use of the plural in the waterfall name on this page.
Said to fall from a height of 70m in total, the Edessa Waterfalls were definitely the main attraction of the Edessa town.
And in typical Greek style, we knew that we were never far from history.
So it turned out that the city right next to the falls was said to be founded since the time of Alexander the Great when it was the first capital of Ancient Macedon in 4th century BC.
However, the current relics of the walled city probably came about since the 4th to even the 6th century BC.
According to the literature here, the rushing waters of the river Edessaios (Εδεσσαίος) might have played a role in reinforcing the protection of the city during its evolution over time.
Julie and I noticed signs for archaeological sites around town.
Thus, we’d imagine that it was such places where it was possible to learn more about the history and evolution of Edessa (though we didn’t get to a chance to visit those archaeological sites).
Given the country’s reputation for having very hot Summers, it was amazing that this was a rare year-round waterfall with high flow.
The relatively dry Mediterranean climate is very much like what we get at home in Los Angeles so we’re quite sensitized to how rare year-round waterfalls are as most of them are not where we live.
Nevertheless, despite the heat, it’s said that even in the Summer, Edessa can be refreshingly cool from the mist generated by the waterfalls.
Experiencing the Edessa Waterfalls
Julie and I visited Edessa in late May 2010 on a year when most of Europe was seeing unusually high rainfall.
So the falls were gushing possibly to the extent that its flow might have been well above average.
This fact made things a bit tricky when we wanted to see more than just the Great Waterfall (Karanos), which itself was very easily accessible with plenty of overlooks and stairs for getting decent views of its main drop as well as getting behind the falls.
However, the footpaths that led directly to the Twin Waterfalls called Diplos were closed during our visit.
So that left us with a rather intensely misty descent down a poison-ivy-lined path full of slippery steps across the base of Karanos and towards a bridge between both Karanos and Diplos.
I got the feeling that the slippery and wet conditions were a result of the high flow thanks to the unusually rainy early Summer that we had experienced on this trip (that said, I wasn’t sure if this was normal flow for late Spring regardless).
Anyways, for the price of getting a serious drenching, the payoff was that I finally got my only glimpse of the Twin Waterfalls from its bottom.
We weren’t sure why the more direct footpath was closed, but I’m sure they’ll re-open at a later date than our visit to spare the soggy adventure.
At the very top of the Edessa Waterfalls, it appeared that they diverted part of the stream into an attractive garden complete with mini waterfalls, footbridges, and of course flowers.
Meanwhile, it appeared that other parts of the stream were funneled into channels rushing between buildings as well as a cafe.
Thus, we found plenty of ways to spend a couple of hours or so here even though visiting the waterfalls themselves was pretty quick and straightforward.
Finally, based on some photos that I’ve seen in the literature, the Edessa Waterfalls are apparently floodlit at night.
Perhaps one of these days, we might spend an evening here to witness the effect while also affording us a little more time to visit the historical ruins nearby as well.
Authorities
The Edessa Waterfalls reside in the municpality of Edessa in the Central Macedonia Region of the Pella Regional Unit (formerly a prefecture) of Greece. It is administered by the Municipality of Edessa. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
The Edessa Waterfalls reside in Edessa, which acts as both the town and municipality of the Pella Regional Unit (as prefectures have been deprecated since after our visit in 2010) in the administrative region of Central Macedonia, Greece.
Since the waterfalls flow pretty much right beneath the historical center of the city, it was not difficult to find, especially since we were driving from Thessaloniki.
The route that we took pretty much followed the Route 2 for about 91km, which was mostly a busy two-lane highway with limited opportunities to pass slower moving vehicles.
In one instance, we had to wait for a long time for an opportunity to pass a caravan of large trucks, which is always sketchy when you’re trying to pass with the threat of oncoming traffic.
Anyways, when we got into Edessa, there were plenty of signs within the town leading us to the waterfalls so we didn’t have too much difficulty of at least getting fairly close to the falls.
The challenge however was parking, where we ultimately found street parking in front of a line of shops and vendors on the relatively quiet time of the day that we were there in May 2010.
As in most European cities, I’m sure parking is a matter of luck and a lot of patience in busier times.
Nevertheless, I did see that there were signs for parking (perhaps more distant from the waterfalls) that I’d imagine would provide more space and be more accommodating of a busier time.
Once we parked, we basically walked towards a park-like area within earshot of the rushing Edessaios River.
From the Tourist Office sitting within the park, we followed the rushing channels downstream past the cafe and ultimately towards the overlooks and walkways leading to viewpoints of Karanos (the Great Waterfall).
Overall, this drive took us about 90 minutes despite some of the delays we faced.
In hindsight, it might also be possible to take public transportation from Thessaloniki to Edessa, but since we didn’t get a chance to do it, I can’t describe this in any more detail.
For geographic context, Edessa was 91km (about 90 minutes drive) northwest of Thessaloniki, 132km (about 2 hours drive) northwest of Litochoro, about 188km (2.5 hours drive) north of Meteora, and 544km (about 6 hours drive) north of Athens.
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Long deliberate bottom up sweep of the main waterfall
Right to left L-shaped sweep showing the Edessa scenery further downstream before ending at the top of the main waterfall
Deliberate bottom up sweep from behind the main waterfall
Bottom up sweep from the bridge crossing below one of the cascades beneath the main waterfall showing a hint of the main waterfall itself in the background
Bottom up sweep of the Twin Waterfalls on the other side of the Edessa network of waterfalls
Left to right sweep showing the bridge I crossed beneath the main waterfalls and ending up at the Twin Waterfalls on the other side
Top down sweep of just the Twin Waterfalls
At the brink of one of the Twin Waterfalls looking down towards some hydro schemes in the background
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