Kazakhstan Bgag · CC0
The cut
162 metres, to scale.
A slice through Charyn 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
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.
162m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
24°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
85km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 32 °C. The best months to hike are from April to May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from November to February.
- 1°0°Jan
- 4°3°Feb
- 12°11°Mar
- 19°18°Apr
- 25°24°May
- 30°29°Jun
- 32°31°Jul
- 31°30°Aug
- 25°24°Sep
- 17°16°Oct
- 8°7°Nov
- 2°1°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.
Canyon on the Charyn River in Kazakhstan
Charyn Canyon is a canyon in Kazakhstan, cut by the Charyn River. The relief model measures 162 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 85 km. Rim to rim it is 2.1 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.1 km from the floor
- Karakol International Airport (IKG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 110 km in a straight lineCar hire at ALA airport (Almaty)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to May and from September to Octoberbest 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 Charyn River runs highest from April to May.
The Charyn River carries about 24 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May. It is lowest from September to January.
- 6.4 m³/sJan
- 20 m³/sFeb
- 76 m³/sMar
- 119 m³/sApr
- 120 m³/sMay
- 82 m³/sJun
- 39 m³/sJul
- 16 m³/sAug
- 5.6 m³/sSep
- 11 m³/sOct
- 12 m³/sNov
- 2.1 m³/sDec
From about 2.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 120 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 6,828 km².
Follow the Charyn River from source to mouth on Riveryas
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
1.2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 9viewpoints within 5 kmВид сверху на каньон, Площадка у реки, вид на каньон Темерлик and 6 more
- 1car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmEco-Park Charyn Canyon Tourist Complex
- 18hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmТемир Лик and 17 more
- 4restaurants and cafés within 4 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
- 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Charyn 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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 1 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 25 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 2 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 24 | 16 | 7 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -8 | -6 | -1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 10 | 4 | -2 | -7 |
| Rain (mm) | 14 | 17 | 22 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 30 | 24 | 19 | 25 | 27 | 16 |
| Rainy days | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Sun hours/day | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 | 9.0 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 17 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 17 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 0 | -8 | 14 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 4 | 3 | -6 | 17 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 12 | 11 | -1 | 22 | 7.1 |
| Apr | 19 | 18 | 5 | 34 | 8.3 |
| May | 25 | 24 | 10 | 34 | 10.1 |
| Jun | 30 | 29 | 15 | 36 | 10.3 |
| Jul | 32 | 31 | 17 | 30 | 10.5 |
| Aug | 31 | 30 | 16 | 24 | 10.1 |
| Sep | 25 | 24 | 10 | 19 | 9.0 |
| Oct | 17 | 16 | 4 | 25 | 6.9 |
| Nov | 8 | 7 | -2 | 27 | 4.7 |
| Dec | 2 | 1 | -7 | 16 | 4.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (887 m) and the rim (1,050 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 | 87% | 125% | 104% | 124% | 120% | 23% | 75% | 192% | 114% | 44% | 68% | 35% |
| 2021 | 45% | 181% | 166% | 83% | 67% | 68% | 113% | 136% | 38% | 242% | 59% | 37% |
| 2022 | 76% | 93% | 391% | 74% | 248% | 76% | 64% | 19% | 48% | 90% | 271% | 67% |
| 2023 | 128% | 86% | 153% | 93% | 88% | 45% | 72% | 147% | 266% | 114% | 93% | 196% |
| 2024 | 110% | 76% | 257% | 133% | 202% | 83% | 242% | 210% | 206% | 254% | 84% | 137% |
| 2025 | 152% | 34% | 117% | 135% | 132% | 57% | 23% | 62% | 241% | 44% | 41% | 150% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Charyn Canyon
Kazakhstan
- 162 mDepth
- 2.1 kmRim to rim
- 85 kmLength
- 24°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2231598) · 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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here