Switzerland Yaliny23 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
162 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges de l'Areuse 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
162m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
23.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
19°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
428m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 24 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in June and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February.
- 4°0°Jan
- 5°1°Feb
- 10°6°Mar
- 15°11°Apr
- 18°15°May
- 22°19°Jun
- 24°21°Jul
- 24°20°Aug
- 20°16°Sep
- 16°12°Oct
- 9°6°Nov
- 5°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.
Gorges de l'Areuse is a canyon in Switzerland, cut by the L'Areuse river. The relief model measures 162 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 558 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 24 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Boudrynearest town · 1.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,040 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.6 km from the floor
- Bern Airport (BRN)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 51 km in a straight lineCar hire at BRN airport (Bern)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In June and in Septemberbest 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 L'Areuse runs highest from March to August, in October and from December to January.
The L'Areuse carries about 5.6 m³/s on average here.
- 5.1 m³/sJan
- 3.7 m³/sFeb
- 6.1 m³/sMar
- 5.8 m³/sApr
- 8.4 m³/sMay
- 6.5 m³/sJun
- 4.7 m³/sJul
- 4.7 m³/sAug
- 2.7 m³/sSep
- 4.1 m³/sOct
- 2.9 m³/sNov
- 4.1 m³/sDec
From about 2.7 m³/s in the lowest month to 8.4 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 243 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.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmLes Tablettes, Chute de la Verrière, Signal du Lessy and 13 more
- 59marked hiking routes within 4 kmLe Belvédère - Forêt de Boudry, Grande Ecoeurne-Signal du Lessy, European long distance path E4 - part Switzerland and 56 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmC+ Urban Climbing
- 32footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPasserelle du Gor de Brayes, Passerelle de Combe Garrot, Passerelle de la combe des Epines and 29 more
- 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmChute de la Verrière
- 5caves within 3 km
- 124car parks within 3 km
- 8information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 71bus stops within 2 km
- 11campsites within 8 kmCamping de la plage de Boudry, Stellplatz Serrières, Stellplatz Pierre-à-Bot, Neuchâtel and 8 more
- 49hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmL'aubier, Le Café-Hôtel, Ferme Robert - l'abri du Van, La Truite and 46 more
- 43restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots 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
- Boudry1.3 km in a straight line
- Cortaillod2.2 km in a straight line
- Bevaix3.5 km in a straight line
- Auvernier4.2 km in a straight line
- Peseux5.5 km in a straight line
- Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane6.4 km in a straight line
- Gorgier7.4 km in a straight line
- Saint-Aubin-Sauges8.4 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges de l'Areuse.
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
Peakyas23 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 5 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 4 | -1 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 66 | 86 | 83 | 124 | 112 | 113 | 118 | 83 | 100 | 85 | 96 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.2 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | 0 | -5 | 85 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 5 | 1 | -5 | 66 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 10 | 6 | -2 | 86 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 15 | 11 | 2 | 83 | 6.5 |
| May | 18 | 15 | 6 | 124 | 6.8 |
| Jun | 22 | 19 | 10 | 112 | 8.4 |
| Jul | 24 | 21 | 12 | 113 | 8.5 |
| Aug | 24 | 20 | 11 | 118 | 7.6 |
| Sep | 20 | 16 | 7 | 83 | 6.4 |
| Oct | 16 | 12 | 4 | 100 | 4.3 |
| Nov | 9 | 6 | -1 | 85 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 5 | 1 | -4 | 96 | 1.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (428 m) and the rim (987 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 55% | 187% | 90% | 46% | 92% | 150% | 42% | 94% | 96% | 178% | 31% | 92% |
| 2021 | 122% | 73% | 62% | 49% | 128% | 148% | 158% | 64% | 73% | 74% | 63% | 147% |
| 2022 | 54% | 119% | 28% | 124% | 45% | 102% | 36% | 65% | 214% | 88% | 136% | 113% |
| 2023 | 92% | 23% | 137% | 126% | 64% | 40% | 89% | 81% | 55% | 141% | 281% | 160% |
| 2024 | 119% | 108% | 113% | 112% | 143% | 132% | 82% | 78% | 228% | 150% | 83% | 113% |
| 2025 | 154% | 58% | 50% | 88% | 70% | 107% | 108% | 109% | 189% | 135% | 155% | 28% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges de l'Areuse
Switzerland
- 162 mDepth
- 24 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 19°Steepest wall
Gorges du Doubs
Switzerland · 20 km
- 377 mDepth
- 4.4 kmRim to rim
- 40 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3110993) · 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?
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