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Garni Canyon, Azat Canyon, Armenia

Armenia Armenia Canyon

Garni Gorge

597 m of rock, cut by the Azat River.

See the cutWhen to go

Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0

The cut

597 metres, to scale.

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

1,911 m1,742 m597 m10.0 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 1.51,911 m1,742 m597 m10.0 km rim to rim1.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

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.

597m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

10.0km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

34°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

1,145m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

5 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 28 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in October. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are from April to June.

rim · 1,911 mfloor · 1,145 m
  1. 4°-1°Jan
  2. 6°1°Feb
  3. 12°7°Mar
  4. 17°12°Apr
  5. 23°18°May
  6. 29°24°Jun
  7. 33°28°Jul
  8. 33°28°Aug
  9. 28°23°Sep
  10. 20°15°Oct
  11. 11°6°Nov
  12. 6°1°Dec
Hike: OctFrost on the rim: Nov–MarWettest: Apr–Jun

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.

Gorge in Armenia

Garni Gorge is a canyon in Armenia, cut by the Azat River. The relief model measures 597 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 766 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 10.0 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Garninearest town · 1.0 km in a straight line
  • Parking 2,350 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.1 km from the floor
  • Zvartnots International Airport (EVN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 28 km in a straight lineCar hire at EVN airport (Yerevan)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • 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 Azat River runs highest in May.

The Azat River carries about 0.28 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from August to February.

  1. 0.1 m³/sJan
  2. 0.2 m³/sFeb
  3. 0.5 m³/sMar
  4. 0.9 m³/sApr
  5. 1.3 m³/sMay
  6. 0.9 m³/sJun
  7. 0.4 m³/sJul
  8. 0.1 m³/sAug
  9. 0.1 m³/sSep
  10. 0.2 m³/sOct
  11. 0.1 m³/sNov
  12. 0.1 m³/sDec

From about 0.05 m³/s in the lowest month to 1.3 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 106 km².

Follow the Azat 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.

Garni Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 22 × 22 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 7viewpoints within 5 kmՔարերի սիմֆոնիա and 6 more
  • 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • 4car parks within 3 km
  • 5bus stops within 2 km
  • 8campsites within 8 kmКемпинг под деревьями, Camping Life, Hoja Place and 5 more
  • 13hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHYELANDZ ECO VILLAGE RESORT, Bed & Breakfast / Camping 3 gs, Նարինե Հյուրատուն and 10 more
  • 19restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • marked hiking routes 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
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • information boards and visitor centres 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).

Towns nearby

  • Garni1.0 km in a straight line
  • Goght5.4 km in a straight line
  • Jrvezh11 km in a straight line
  • Dzoraghbyur12 km in a straight line
  • Geghashen12 km in a straight line
  • Mushavan14 km in a straight line
  • Nubarashen15 km in a straight line
  • Nor Nork16 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Garni Gorge.

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.

Peakyas11 mountains within 15 km
Ditabloor · 2.7 kmYeranos · 3.7 kmSymphony of Stones · 4.3 kmBardenut1,595 m · 7.7 kmIshtasar1,926 m · 11 kmHoghasar1,632 m · 13 kmQaragagat1,948 m · 13 kmIlkasar · 14 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
Azat Reservoir0.8 km² · 8.9 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 · floor461217232933332820116
Afternoon · rim-1171218242828231561
Night · rim-10-8-316111414104-2-7
Rain (mm)161529425744251920331915
Rainy days446101210644744
Sun hours/day4.44.94.65.47.39.09.08.87.55.84.63.8
Snow on the ground (cm)17161492000031115
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan4-1-10164.4
Feb61-8154.9
Mar127-3294.6
Apr17121425.4
May23186577.3
Jun292411449.0
Jul332814259.0
Aug332814198.8
Sep282310207.5
Oct20154335.8
Nov116-2194.6
Dec61-7153.8

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,145 m) and the rim (1,911 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Garni Canyon, Azat River Valley, Armenia
Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0
Río Azat, valle de Garni, Armenia, 2016-10-02, DD 27-29 HDR
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Río Azat, valle de Garni, Armenia, 2016-10-02, DD 37-39 HDR
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

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
202057%112%91%198%106%73%219%192%40%64%80%140%
2021121%108%203%55%86%13%105%100%75%88%64%51%
202295%45%157%51%152%108%34%61%29%60%61%51%
202341%131%167%116%110%196%151%103%147%127%89%168%
2024276%45%228%56%197%105%286%65%163%160%139%91%
202517%164%160%166%80%57%133%13%174%76%8%212%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Garni Gorge

Armenia

  • 597 mDepth
  • 10.0 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 34°Steepest wall

Debed Canyon

Armenia · 106 km

  • 1,170 mDepth
  • 13 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 34°Steepest wall

See the guide

Tsalka Canyon

Georgia · 168 km

  • 408 mDepth
  • 2.6 kmRim to rim
  • 8.0 kmLength
  • 30°Steepest wall

See the guide

Pankisi Gorge

Georgia · 226 km

  • 608 mDepth
  • 24 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 30°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q4133851) · 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