North-west tributary of Venetikos. Section 2: Mikrolivado-Spileo
Length: 12kms.
Put in: the bridge connecting Monachiti and Mikrolivado
Take out: 600m before the unrunnable gorge, below the village of Spileo, where a dirt road crosses the river, over a concrete slab.
Character: The river flows through remote woody gorges, rock gardens and series of ledges. Technically demanding but predictable and rewarding in bigger flow.
General Difficulty: Grade III,IV in low to medium flow. A couple of rapids, can be tougher (IV+ to V-)in high flow.
Time: 4-6 hours, depending the flow and the group number and ability
Road book*:
> Put in bridge (Mikrolivado)
> (4d2)left crossing to Agios Nikolaos and emergency river access
> (1.5d2)Monachiti village
> (4.6a3)left crossing to Spileo river access
> (0.7a3)Venetikos bridge
> (3.0a3) Trikomo village
> (2.0a3) left crossing to Paroreio village
> (5.0a3) Grevena - Mavranaioi junction (higher class road). We turn left towards Ziakas
> (7.5a3) Ziakas village
> (1.7a3) right crossing to Avdella. We take the left downhill to Spileo
> (3.3a3) Spileo village square. We take the road between the two cafes and the next right crossing out of the village.
> (1.7d2) Wooden kiosk. Stop and enjoy the view! Take the left downhill to Portitsa gorge.
> (3.5d2) Take out - summer road passage.
> (1.1d3) Portitsa gorge and arced bridge.
(*)Index: 4d2=4km dirt road class2, 4.6a3= 4.6kms of asphalt road (class 3)
Depending the situation, class 2 dirt roads may be used by normal cars, class 3 dirt roads only by 4x4 or trucks. Class 2 asphalt road, is a 2-lines prefecture road, where class 3 is a smaller, not signed road connecting smaller villages.
Maps: Anavasi publications, Valia Kalda, 1:50.000
Gauge info: There is no gauge meter. If the river passage at the take out is paddlable (10-20cm) and in the put in you can paddle without too much bamping, then the flow is low but ok (WW III-IV). If there is over than 50cm at the river passage then the flow is high, but still ok (WW IV-V). See also the photos of the two bridges available, for high flow indication.
Km by km description: (Based on a high flow run)
2.0km: After a couple of bends, the gorge starts closing, entering the first canyon. The first horizon line appears in front of us. Scouting is possible by a micro eddy on the river right. (III+)
3.7km: A few more ledges and we reach the second rapid. The water has carved a 4m wide corridor, where it drops down a 2.5m steep chutte, with a nasty hole in the left. The rapid continues with three smaller ledges in the next 30m, to end in a calmer stretch. (V-)
Portage is possible from the right bank.
Nikos Mavris running the "ramp"
4.2km: According to Anavasi detailed map, an emergency access dirt road, over the canyon's rim, can be reached with some scrambling and some scouting. Road leads to the country church of Agios Nikolaos in 1.5km and in 5km more it reaches the village of Monachiti.
4.8km: Achillea's heel* The river turns to the left, droping down a multistep river wide ledge and squeezes through a tight gap to the left. (V-)
Scouting and portage option, is again on the right bank.
(*) Name given by the authors of "Greco" guidebook.
6.0km: The Pyramid rapid. An extended (100m), straight forward, eddy-hoping rapid, through ledges and power holes. In the end, a pyramid shaped boulder, creating big reaction waves, urges you to catch an eddy out, before crashing onto it. Staying with the flow, is the key point to this rapid too, as the water winds a left S turn around it. (III+)
Left: Achillea's heel. Right: Pyramid rapid.
6.2km: The river stop its northern course, where a tributary enters from the left, to continue towards the east, for the last (and much easier) section. Still paddling succesive WW III stretches.
6.4km: A confusing boulder garden, needs scouting from the left bank, as big boulders and logs jammed in various tricky places, create a quite technical and surely dangerous passage. In higher flow, there is a safer line by river left. Portage is difficult, due to tree branches, but surely possible, on the left.
6.5-12.0km: The river gradually eases to WW III - II, for the last section, letting us enjoy the beautiful landscape. The gorge starts opening and in a while, the village of Spileo appears before us, high on the shoulder of the mountain. In less than 20min we reach our take out point, 1km before the arced bridge of Portitsa gorge.
Shuttle: The normal shuttle from the take out, below Spileo to the put in (Mikrolivado bridge), is almost 40kms, mostly asphalt road, lasting almost 45min, but if the river passage at the take out is low, and the dirt road to Monachiti has not been closed by any rockslides, one may reduce the shuttle by half. See the detailed map
Meleopotamos river data
Length: 12kms.
