South Africa South African Tourism from South Africa · CC BY 2.0
The cut
614 metres, to scale.
A slice through Blyde River Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
614m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
664m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In January the afternoon reaches 32 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to July. The wettest months are from November to March.
- 32°26°Jan
- 32°25°Feb
- 30°24°Mar
- 28°22°Apr
- 27°20°May
- 24°18°Jun
- 24°18°Jul
- 27°21°Aug
- 30°24°Sep
- 31°25°Oct
- 31°25°Nov
- 32°26°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
South Africa
Blyde River Canyon is a canyon in South Africa, cut by the Blyde River. The relief model measures 614 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 953 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 4.5 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Ga-Boelangnearest town · 17 km in a straight line
- Parking 920 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.6 km from the floor
- Eastgate Airport / Air Force Base Hoedspruit (HDS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 33 km in a straight lineCar hire at HDS airport (Hoedspruit)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Julybest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, 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.
The river
The Blyde River runs highest from December to February.
The Blyde River carries about 3.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from December to February. It is lowest from May to October.
- 13 m³/sJan
- 12 m³/sFeb
- 9.4 m³/sMar
- 5.7 m³/sApr
- 2.2 m³/sMay
- 0.7 m³/sJun
- 0.3 m³/sJul
- 0.3 m³/sAug
- 0.6 m³/sSep
- 2.5 m³/sOct
- 7.0 m³/sNov
- 11 m³/sDec
From about 0.29 m³/s in the lowest month to 13 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 752 km².
The Blyde River from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 10 × 10 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 10viewpoints within 5 kmLowveld View, Three Rondavels Viewpoint, Drie Rondawels Lookout and 7 more
- 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmGuinea-fowl trail, Leopard Trail, Tufa Trail and 1 more
- 1swimming spots within 3 km
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmKadishi Tufa Waterfall, Tufa trail mini waterfall
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmSwadini - Forever Resorts, Forever resort Swadini
- 3hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAmafu Forest Lodge, Blyde River Canyon Lodge
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Ga-Boelang17 km in a straight line
- Moloro18 km in a straight line
- Ga-Maotole19 km in a straight line
- Mapaleng A21 km in a straight line
- Pelindaba21 km in a straight line
- New Line22 km in a straight line
- Kgapamadi22 km in a straight line
- Mamelodi22 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Blyde River Canyon.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas14 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 32 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 32 |
| Afternoon · rim | 26 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 |
| Night · rim | 13 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
| Rain (mm) | 131 | 106 | 86 | 49 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 53 | 100 | 126 |
| Rainy days | 19 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 19 |
| Sun hours/day | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 26 | 13 | 131 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 32 | 25 | 13 | 106 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 30 | 24 | 12 | 86 | 7.9 |
| Apr | 28 | 22 | 9 | 49 | 7.5 |
| May | 27 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 8.8 |
| Jun | 24 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 24 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8.8 |
| Aug | 27 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 8.9 |
| Sep | 30 | 24 | 8 | 18 | 8.8 |
| Oct | 31 | 25 | 10 | 53 | 7.9 |
| Nov | 31 | 25 | 12 | 100 | 7.7 |
| Dec | 32 | 26 | 13 | 126 | 7.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (664 m) and the rim (1,617 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 120% | 292% | 121% | 167% | 16% | 125% | 140% | 85% | 69% | 186% | 54% | 157% |
| 2021 | 200% | 271% | 60% | 23% | 82% | 215% | 81% | 100% | 66% | 86% | 115% | 157% |
| 2022 | 191% | 80% | 137% | 221% | 620% | 230% | 211% | 40% | 28% | 31% | 112% | 91% |
| 2023 | 66% | 423% | 39% | 38% | 980% | 75% | 362% | 60% | 131% | 92% | 77% | 201% |
| 2024 | 101% | 45% | 167% | 154% | 40% | 95% | 6% | 95% | 61% | 70% | 89% | 125% |
| 2025 | 175% | 119% | 116% | 116% | 37% | 65% | 111% | 85% | 131% | 179% | 221% | 161% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q886892) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, 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 or canyons?
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canyons
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