Since 14 October last year, what is arguably Greece’s best-known waterway has been closed to shipping due to urgently needed work to stabilise the steep canal slopes. In recent years, the canal has had to be closed on several occasions due to severe landslides and has undergone extensive repairs. Time and again, masses of rock and scree had slid into the waterway.
Important abbreviation for boaters
The Corinth Canal, which is around 6.3 kilometres long and features limestone walls up to 85 metres high, is one of Greece’s best-known tourist attractions and connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. A journey through the canal is not only a breathtaking experience; it also saves you the long detour around the Peloponnese peninsula and Cape Maleas, which is notorious for its spring and autumn storms.
For holidaymakers in Greece sailing between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean, this means that one of the most spectacular and, at the same time, most practical routes in the eastern Mediterranean is once again available. The almost vertical rock faces and the narrow channel continue to make the passage through the Corinth Canal a truly special experience.
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Ancient precursor to the Corinth Canal
The canal was opened on 25 July 1893. However, the idea of cutting through the Isthmus of Corinth dates back to antiquity. It was still too early for a canal project of this scale. Nevertheless, an impressive technical alternative was devised: ships were pulled across the land on carts or sledges along the Diolkos, a stone road with grooved channels. It stretched for about six kilometres and connected the Gulf of Corinth in the west with the Saronic Gulf in the east.
Jill Grigoleit
Editor Travel
