About Routsouna’s Waterfall (Καταρράκτης Ρουτσουνας)
Routsouna’s Waterfall (Καταρράκτης Ρουτσουνας in Greek; I’ve also seen it spelled Rutsuna) is probably the lone legitimate natural waterfall on Naxos Island.
Waterfalls in general are actually quite rare in Greece’s Cyclades Islands due to the combination of their dimunitive sizes along with a typically hot and dry climate for most of the year.
The Cyclades group of islands also includes both Santorini and Mykonos, neither of which are known for the kind of topography that would harbor waterfalls.
Nevertheless, Routsouna’s Waterfall offered a more rural and natural contrast to the island chain’s well-touristed beaches, white buildings, windmills, and haphazard narrow lanes (all typically against the backdrop of the Aegean Sea).
That said, I definitely had to earn my visit to this 20m waterfall with a 6km (my GPS logs had it closer to 5km) round-trip hike.
It was further complicated by the fact that there were no guarantees the water would be flowing (especially in light of a multi-year drought that happened during my early April 2024 visit).
Indeed, for such effort without a guarantee of success, which is the very definition of makes an adventure in the first place, it’s the primary reason why most foreign tourists don’t bother.
And that’s saying something for one of the less busier islands in general (even though Naxos was on the same ferry route that includes Mykonos and Santorini).
Nevertheless, as you can see in the photos above, this waterfall had some resilience despite the lack of rain for most of the Winter and Spring in early 2024.
I suspect that the water catchment was aided by the fact that Naxos Island is the largest of the Cyclades group, which helped to support a larger drainage area.
In fact, this waterfall was sufficiently remote (for a relatively small island) that I even witnessed wild or feral mountain goats while I was at the Routsouna’s Waterfall.
Accessing the Routsouna’s Waterfall
The way I accessed the Routsouna’s Waterfall was by driving to the mountain village of Keramoti near the center of Naxos Island (see directions below).
I did this by self-driving though I have read that it might be possible to hire private transport if it’s too much hassle to rent your own car and deal with the narrow and steep Greek roads.
Once at the village of Keramoti, there were plenty of signs pointing the way towards the Routsouna’s Waterfall (even in English; so you know it has some degree of tourism development despite it being off-the-beaten-path).
The hike involves a 3km each way path (or 6km round-trip) that descends from Keramoti before undulating along a canyon on the southwestern slopes of Mount Koronos generally in a downhill direction.
In fact, this trail is on the Naxos Hiking Route 12, which actually starts before Keramoti (at Koronos) and continues beyond the Routsouna’s Waterfall towards the abandoned settlement of Skeponio, so you can extend this excursion.
Once at the signed trail junction for the waterfall (after about 2km from Keramoti), I then had to descend a steep path eventually ending at its base.
Overall, this 6km return hike took me about 2.5 hours away from the car, which included spending around 10-15 minutes at the waterfall itself.
It also took me around an hour to drive between Chora (the main town on Naxos Island) and Keramoti.
Thus, you’re basically looking at a minimum of a half-day excursion to earn the Routsouna’s Waterfall experience.
Trail Description – Traversing Keramoti and Private Land
From the car park in the village of Keramoti, I had to walk its narrow lanes past a church, a museum, and some old mills.
For the most part, there were signs pointing the way to the Routsouna’s Waterfall along with a square red-white icon with the number “12” on it (suggesting this was part of Naxos Hiking Route 12 or something like that).
Along the way, there were a few intersections where I had to do a little trial and error, but the village was small enough that I was able to navigate my way through.
Once at the lower end of the village of Keramoti (passing by a historical-looking fountain), the trail descended steps before going onto a conventional dirt trail following the contours of the canyon carved out by a stream.
This stream originates from a saddle between Mt Koronos and Mt Mavrovouni, then passes beneath Keramoti before eventually emptying into the Aegean Sea at Paralia Amitos Beach.
During my visit in early April 2024, it seemed as if this stream was either dry or not flowing much because I couldn’t really hear it (let alone see it) throughout the hike.
Most of the first 800m of the trail initially went along a stretch of what appeared to be private land with a public easement to allow for this trail to traverse it.
Eventually after going through a couple of wire gates along the way (that I had to open and close) as well as some farming infrastructure (i.e. fencing, sheds, some equipment lying around, etc.), the trail became more naturesque.
Trail Description – Natural Landscapes
In the stretch beyond the reaches of Keramoti and the local farmland, I noticed glimpses of the Aegean Sea way downstream as well as some interesting rock formations high above either side of the canyon I was on.
This part of the trail was so tranquil that I even noticed numerous lizards or salamanders scurrying in front of me whenever I approached.
Still, with the relative silence save for the sounds of wind as well as the odd goat or sheep “meh”-ing in the distance, the lack of the sound of running water definitely gave me concerns about whether the Routsouna’s Waterfall would be flowing.
At about 2km from Keramoti (after passing by some stone fencing and some kind of shelter on a hill adjacent to the trail), I ultimately reached a signed trail junction where the Routsouna’s Waterfall Trail descended to the left.
At this point, I deviated from the Route 12 to pursue the descending path as I followed some red spray-painted dots on some rocks along the way.
By about 300m from the signed trail junction, I finally started to see the Routsouna’s Waterfall, which to my surprise, was actually flowing (albeit on a different stream than the quiet one I had been hiking parallel to).
I also spotted some wild or feral mountain goats around the waterfall, who seemed very surprised and jittery about my presence (perhaps attesting to how few people actually hike here).
Once at the bottom of the steep descent to the base of the Routsouna’s Waterfall, I was greeted with a tranquil plunge pool (I did hear some frog splashes) fronted by a picnic table as well as a water pipe.
Although the waterfall had seen better days, just the fact that it was still flowing after nearly a season of no rain (in the midst a prolonged multi-year drought) certainly exceeded my lowered expectations.
That said, I’d imagine that given another month or so of hot and dry weather would eventually leave this waterfall either dry or just trickling (though I’ve read that it can be a swimming hole in the Summer).
As far as exploring the area a little further, I did notice another plunge pool further downstream of the one immediately below the Routsouna’s Waterfall, but it didn’t seem like scrambling down there was worth the risk.
So this was my turnaround point, and I pretty much just returned the way I came that was now mostly mildly uphill.
Along the way, I enjoyed the contextual views of Keramoti Village with its white buildings contrasting the rocky mountains in the background.
Authorities
Routsouna’s Waterfall resides near the villages of Keramoti on Naxos Island of the Cyclades Prefecture in the Aegean Sea Administrative Region of Greece. It is administered primarily by a combination of the Naxos Island authorities as well as the villagers in Keramoti. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Naxos and Small Cyclades Tourism website.
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