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Cañón del Pilaya seen from above (Sentinel-2)

Bolivia Bolivia Canyon

Cañón del Pilaya

1,557 m of rock, cut by the Río Camblaya.

See the cutWhen to go

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

The cut

1,557 metres, to scale.

A slice through Cañón del Pilaya where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

3,612 m3,014 m1,557 m6.6 km rim to rim1.0 km3,612 m3,014 m1,557 m6.6 km rim to rim1.0 km

Standing on the floor, to scale: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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.

1,557m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

6.6km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

51°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,457m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

14 °C warmer at the bottom.

In October the afternoon reaches 32 °C on the floor, against 18 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to July. The rim freezes at night from May to September. The wettest months are from December to March.

rim · 3,612 mfloor · 1,457 m
  1. 30°16°Jan
  2. 30°16°Feb
  3. 30°16°Mar
  4. 30°16°Apr
  5. 29°15°May
  6. 28°14°Jun
  7. 28°14°Jul
  8. 30°16°Aug
  9. 32°18°Sep
  10. 32°18°Oct
  11. 32°18°Nov
  12. 32°18°Dec
Hike: Apr–JulFrost on the rim: May–SepWettest: Dec–Mar

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.

World's sixth deepest canyon, located in Bolivia

Cañón del Pilaya is a canyon in Bolivia, cut by the Río Camblaya. The relief model measures 1,557 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 2,155 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 6.6 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at TJA airport (Tarija)Discover CarsSee prices 

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 Río Camblaya runs highest from January to March.

The Río Camblaya carries about 55 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to March. It is lowest from May to November.

  1. 154 m³/sJan
  2. 182 m³/sFeb
  3. 157 m³/sMar
  4. 92 m³/sApr
  5. 40 m³/sMay
  6. 11 m³/sJun
  7. 7.5 m³/sJul
  8. 7.3 m³/sAug
  9. 8.0 m³/sSep
  10. 20 m³/sOct
  11. 39 m³/sNov
  12. 98 m³/sDec

From about 7.3 m³/s in the lowest month to 182 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 44,190 km².

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.

Cañón del Pilaya seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 4 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

    • viewpoints within 5 km
    • marked hiking routes 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
    • swimming spots within 3 km
    • named waterfalls within 4 km
    • caves within 3 km
    • car parks within 3 km
    • information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
    • bus stops within 2 km
    • campsites within 8 km
    • hotels and guesthouses within 8 km
    • restaurants and cafés within 4 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).

    In our other atlases

    What else is around Cañón del Pilaya.

    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.

    Peakyas2 mountains within 15 km
    Loma Lanza Khasa3,874 m · 11 kmCerro Sipe4,422 m · 12 km

    Figures 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.

    JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
    Afternoon · floor303030302928283032323232
    Afternoon · rim161616161514141618181818
    Night · rim4431-4-6-7-5-2124
    Rain (mm)1231037822523283854109
    Rainy days20171674233591216
    Sun hours/day7.16.66.77.17.68.38.89.18.37.47.66.9
    Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
    Jan301641237.1
    Feb301641036.6
    Mar30163786.7
    Apr30161227.1
    May2915-457.6
    Jun2814-628.3
    Jul2814-738.8
    Aug3016-529.1
    Sep3218-288.3
    Oct32181387.4
    Nov32182547.6
    Dec321841096.9

    Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,457 m) and the rim (3,612 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

    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.

    JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
    202096%138%57%92%————188%162%101%91%
    2021110%110%118%158%————150%21%148%136%
    2022123%79%37%208%————50%21%15%119%
    202365%95%124%158%————15%332%121%115%
    202448%93%82%111%————42%235%185%29%
    2025108%61%208%161%————558%131%106%112%

    130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

    Compare with the neighbours.

    Cañón del Pilaya

    Bolivia

    • 1,557 mDepth
    • 6.6 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 51°Steepest wall

    Magical

    Bolivia · 102 km

    • 776 mDepth
    • 19 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 33°Steepest wall

    See the guide

    Quebrada de Humahuaca

    Argentina · 243 km

    • 911 mDepth
    • 24 kmRim to rim
    • —Length
    • 28°Steepest wall

    See the guide

    Where these figures come from

    Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q65164959) · CC0
    The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
    River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
    ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
    Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
    ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
    Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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?

    Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

    beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
    lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
    mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
    waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
    islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
    canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here