Tnarik · CC BY-SA 2.0
The cut
1,022 metres, to scale.
A slice through Desfiladero de Los Beyos 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: 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.
1,022m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
36°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
20km
Length
Rim to floor
8 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 20 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from October to December.
- 11°2°Jan
- 11°3°Feb
- 15°6°Mar
- 18°9°Apr
- 21°13°May
- 26°18°Jun
- 28°20°Jul
- 28°20°Aug
- 25°17°Sep
- 20°12°Oct
- 14°6°Nov
- 11°3°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.
Desfiladero de Los Beyos is a gorge in Spain, cut by the Sella river. The relief model measures 1,022 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,261 m to the higher one. It runs for 20 km. Rim to rim it is 5.9 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Amievanearest town · 6.4 km in a straight line
- Parking 240 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Mirador de Vistalegrenearest viewpoint · 7.8 km from the floor
- León Airport (LEN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 81 km in a straight lineCar hire at OVD airport (Ranón)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in 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 Sella runs highest from November to April.
The Sella carries about 3.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to April. It is lowest from July to September.
- 6.2 m³/sJan
- 5.7 m³/sFeb
- 5.6 m³/sMar
- 5.3 m³/sApr
- 4.2 m³/sMay
- 2.6 m³/sJun
- 1.2 m³/sJul
- 0.9 m³/sAug
- 1.3 m³/sSep
- 3.8 m³/sOct
- 5.8 m³/sNov
- 5.8 m³/sDec
From about 0.87 m³/s in the lowest month to 6.2 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 129 km².
The Sella 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
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 13 × 13 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 2viewpoints within 5 kmMirador de Vistalegre, Mirador de Los Porros
- 2marked hiking routes within 4 kmSenda del Arcediano, Soto de Sajambre-Vegabaño
- 5footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPuente de Aguasalio and 4 more
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmCascada de Aguasalio
- 7caves within 3 km
- 11car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1campsites within 8 km
- 17hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLos Belenos, Apartamentos Rurales Casa Severa, Albergue Peña Santa and 14 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots 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
- Amieva6.4 km in a straight line
- Oseja de Sajambre6.5 km in a straight line
- Posada de Valdeón13 km in a straight line
- Acebedo17 km in a straight line
- Maraña17 km in a straight line
- Burón18 km in a straight line
- Cangas de Onís19 km in a straight line
- Parres19 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Desfiladero de Los Beyos.
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 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 11 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 3 |
| Night · rim | -4 | -4 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | -1 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 81 | 69 | 68 | 66 | 59 | 45 | 29 | 33 | 43 | 84 | 99 | 85 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.7 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 12 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | 2 | -4 | 81 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 11 | 3 | -4 | 69 | 3.8 |
| Mar | 15 | 6 | -2 | 68 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 18 | 9 | 0 | 66 | 6.2 |
| May | 21 | 13 | 2 | 59 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 26 | 18 | 6 | 45 | 7.3 |
| Jul | 28 | 20 | 8 | 29 | 7.7 |
| Aug | 28 | 20 | 8 | 33 | 7.4 |
| Sep | 25 | 17 | 6 | 43 | 6.8 |
| Oct | 20 | 12 | 3 | 84 | 4.8 |
| Nov | 14 | 6 | -1 | 99 | 3.0 |
| Dec | 11 | 3 | -3 | 85 | 2.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (288 m) and the rim (1,549 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 | 47% | 31% | 119% | 131% | 99% | 126% | 54% | 205% | 181% | 282% | 39% | 305% |
| 2021 | 166% | 127% | 34% | 70% | 78% | 211% | 96% | 55% | 156% | 59% | 175% | 165% |
| 2022 | 51% | 37% | 128% | 112% | 45% | 106% | 44% | 110% | 176% | 55% | 100% | 129% |
| 2023 | 215% | 66% | 31% | 37% | 74% | 154% | 44% | 105% | 203% | 131% | 127% | 75% |
| 2024 | 106% | 137% | 139% | 67% | 117% | 142% | 82% | 122% | 247% | 171% | 61% | 87% |
| 2025 | 103% | 90% | 249% | 93% | 130% | 72% | 92% | 166% | 142% | 41% | 132% | 117% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q8355057) · 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.






