Spain Veinticuatro de Jahén · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
401 metres, to scale.
A slice through Despeñaperros 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
401m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
14.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
22°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
564m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 37 °C on the floor, against 34 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April and in October. The floor passes 35 °C from July to August: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from March to April and from October to December.
- 11°8°Jan
- 13°10°Feb
- 17°14°Mar
- 20°17°Apr
- 26°23°May
- 33°30°Jun
- 37°34°Jul
- 36°33°Aug
- 30°27°Sep
- 23°20°Oct
- 16°12°Nov
- 12°9°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.
Mountain pass
Despeñaperros is a gorge in Spain, cut by the Arroyo de Valdeazores. The relief model measures 401 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 14 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Santa Elenanearest town · 7.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 300 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Repisa Maremotonearest viewpoint · 1.6 km from the floor
- Córdoba Airport (ODB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 133 km in a straight lineCar hire at GRX airport (Granada)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In April 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 Arroyo de Valdeazores runs highest from November to April.
The Arroyo de Valdeazores carries about 0.20 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to April. It is lowest from June to September.
- 0.5 m³/sJan
- 0.5 m³/sFeb
- 0.6 m³/sMar
- 0.6 m³/sApr
- 0.3 m³/sMay
- 0.1 m³/sJun
- 0.0 m³/sJul
- 0.0 m³/sAug
- 0.1 m³/sSep
- 0.3 m³/sOct
- 0.6 m³/sNov
- 0.6 m³/sDec
From about 0.03 m³/s in the lowest month to 0.61 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 145 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.
N
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 5viewpoints within 5 kmMirador de Despeñaperros, Mirador Cerro de los Órganos, Repisa Maremoto and 2 more
- 4marked hiking routes within 4 kmLa Cueva de los Muñecos, Barranco de Valdeazores, Castañar de Valdeazores and 1 more
- 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmPozas de Los Arcos, Salto de Navalquejigo
- 1caves within 3 km
- 11car parks within 3 km
- 9information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1campsites within 8 kmDespeñaperros
- 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmEl Mesón de Despeñaperros, La Teja, Casa Rural Finca el Collado de los Jardines and 1 more
- 3restaurants 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
- Santa Elena7.5 km in a straight line
- Aldeaquemada11 km in a straight line
- Viso del Marqués14 km in a straight line
- La Carolina17 km in a straight line
- Vilches22 km in a straight line
- Carboneros22 km in a straight line
- Castellar de Santiago25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Despeñaperros.
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.
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas1 mountains within 15 kmFigures 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 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 26 | 33 | 37 | 36 | 30 | 23 | 16 | 12 |
| Afternoon · rim | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 23 | 30 | 34 | 33 | 27 | 20 | 12 | 9 |
| Night · rim | -2 | -1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 2 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 37 | 41 | 56 | 52 | 33 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 28 | 53 | 52 | 46 |
| Rainy days | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Sun hours/day | 5.3 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 10.2 | 12.3 | 13.2 | 11.7 | 9.2 | 7.3 | 5.7 | 5.3 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | 8 | -2 | 37 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 13 | 10 | -1 | 41 | 6.3 |
| Mar | 17 | 14 | 1 | 56 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 20 | 17 | 4 | 52 | 8.5 |
| May | 26 | 23 | 8 | 33 | 10.2 |
| Jun | 33 | 30 | 14 | 10 | 12.3 |
| Jul | 37 | 34 | 17 | 3 | 13.2 |
| Aug | 36 | 33 | 17 | 7 | 11.7 |
| Sep | 30 | 27 | 13 | 28 | 9.2 |
| Oct | 23 | 20 | 8 | 53 | 7.3 |
| Nov | 16 | 12 | 2 | 52 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 12 | 9 | -1 | 46 | 5.3 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (564 m) and the rim (1,011 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 | 89% | 7% | 121% | 139% | 149% | 12% | — | 343% | 76% | 57% | 136% | 68% |
| 2021 | 187% | 73% | 23% | 114% | 45% | 230% | — | 184% | 145% | 73% | 56% | 68% |
| 2022 | 19% | 20% | 143% | 134% | 15% | 12% | — | 58% | 61% | 35% | 46% | 237% |
| 2023 | 42% | 19% | 14% | 3% | 150% | 355% | — | 4% | 217% | 111% | 20% | 73% |
| 2024 | 127% | 148% | 253% | 22% | 22% | 188% | — | 88% | 57% | 202% | 53% | 2% |
| 2025 | 173% | 34% | 279% | 95% | 116% | 164% | — | 76% | 21% | 65% | 140% | 117% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Despeñaperros
Spain
- 401 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 22°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q111575109) · 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
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