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Alte Napoleon Brücke Gondoschlucht Schweiz

Switzerland Switzerland Canyon

Gondoschlucht

1,734 m of rock, cut by the Doveria.

See the cutWhen to go

Hp.Baumeler · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

1,734 metres, to scale.

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

2,948 m2,548 m1,734 m8.9 km rim to rim1.0 km2,948 m2,548 m1,734 m8.9 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.

1,734m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

8.9km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

47°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

814m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

14 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 10 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to August. The rim freezes at night from September to May. The wettest months are in May and in November.

rim · 2,948 mfloor · 814 m
  1. 3°-11°Jan
  2. 4°-10°Feb
  3. 7°-7°Mar
  4. 12°-2°Apr
  5. 17°3°May
  6. 22°8°Jun
  7. 24°10°Jul
  8. 23°10°Aug
  9. 20°6°Sep
  10. 15°1°Oct
  11. 8°-5°Nov
  12. 4°-10°Dec
Hike: Jun–AugFrost on the rim: Sep–MayWettest: May, Nov

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.

Gondoschlucht is a canyon in Switzerland, cut by the Doveria river. The relief model measures 1,734 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 2,135 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 8.9 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Trasqueranearest town · 8.5 km in a straight line
  • Parking 230 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.9 km from the floor
  • Lugano Airport (LUG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 66 km in a straight lineCar hire at MXP airport (Ferno)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From June to Augustbest 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 Doveria runs highest from April to June.

The Doveria carries about 4.6 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from January to February.

  1. 1.6 m³/sJan
  2. 1.9 m³/sFeb
  3. 4.5 m³/sMar
  4. 8.8 m³/sApr
  5. 9.2 m³/sMay
  6. 7.6 m³/sJun
  7. 5.7 m³/sJul
  8. 5.4 m³/sAug
  9. 4.5 m³/sSep
  10. 4.4 m³/sOct
  11. 5.5 m³/sNov
  12. 3.3 m³/sDec

From about 1.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 9.2 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 101 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.

Gondoschlucht seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 20 × 20 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 1viewpoints within 5 km
  • 33marked hiking routes within 4 kmViaStockalper, F97 - Bivio F10 - Passo delle Possette, F32 - Iselle - Alpe Pianezzoni and 30 more
  • 1via ferrata routes within 4 kmGabi Klettersteig
  • 1climbing crags within 3 kmSimplon Dorf
  • 15footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmStockalperweg and 14 more
  • 1named waterfalls within 4 kmAlpjerfall
  • 8car parks within 3 km
  • 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 5bus stops within 2 km
  • 4campsites within 8 kmStellplatz Simplonpass, Ponte Campo Scout Camping Area, Camping Village Yolki Palki and 1 more
  • 25hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmMonte Leone-Hütte, Rifugio San Bernardo, Rifugio il dosso and 22 more
  • 4restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • caves within 3 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

  • Trasquera8.5 km in a straight line
  • Varzo11 km in a straight line
  • Antrona Schieranco15 km in a straight line
  • Saas-Grund15 km in a straight line
  • Crevoladossola16 km in a straight line
  • Brig17 km in a straight line
  • Saas-Fee17 km in a straight line
  • Domodossola17 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Gondoschlucht.

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor3471217222423201584
Afternoon · rim-11-10-7-238101061-5-10
Night · rim-20-19-15-10-5-110-3-7-12-18
Rain (mm)5556721011431241131259010113171
Rainy days111012151918171614141412
Sun hours/day4.25.56.45.95.77.47.97.16.14.73.43.5
Snow on the ground (cm)505645168211391834
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan3-11-20554.2
Feb4-10-19565.5
Mar7-7-15726.4
Apr12-2-101015.9
May173-51435.7
Jun228-11247.4
Jul241011137.9
Aug231001257.1
Sep206-3906.1
Oct151-71014.7
Nov8-5-121313.4
Dec4-10-18713.5

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (814 m) and the rim (2,948 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

20130818164 Simplon Dorf - Gondo (Schlucht) IMG 5182 (cropped) (cropped)
Michelangelo16 · CC BY-SA 3.0
20130818164 Simplon Dorf - Gondo (Schlucht) IMG 5182 (cropped)
Michelangelo16 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fort Gondo Ost Schlucht
Paebi · 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
202027%59%93%71%88%151%45%129%92%214%6%135%
2021187%75%26%60%81%101%218%59%119%93%73%56%
202222%46%20%60%76%79%84%95%119%100%39%96%
202348%19%85%82%134%144%82%150%137%174%90%125%
202496%230%326%94%202%173%127%78%222%209%22%45%
2025152%58%143%180%107%119%172%124%208%59%44%73%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Gondoschlucht

Switzerland

  • 1,734 mDepth
  • 8.9 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 47°Steepest wall

Orridi di Uriezzo

Italy · 15 km

  • 1,692 mDepth
  • 9.5 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 47°Steepest wall

See the guide

Aare Gorge

Switzerland · 59 km

  • 1,842 mDepth
  • 14 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 45°Steepest wall

See the guide

Schöllenen Gorge

Switzerland · 64 km

  • 1,722 mDepth
  • 8.3 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 46°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q54857102) · 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