Switzerland Zacharie Grossen · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,855 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges du Dailley 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.
1,855m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
6.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
444m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
13 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 14 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in September. The rim freezes at night from October to May.
- 6°-7°Jan
- 6°-6°Feb
- 10°-3°Mar
- 16°3°Apr
- 20°8°May
- 24°12°Jun
- 26°14°Jul
- 26°14°Aug
- 22°10°Sep
- 18°6°Oct
- 12°-1°Nov
- 7°-5°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.
Gorge, hiking trail in the Canton of Valais
Gorges du Dailley is a canyon in Switzerland, cut by the Salanfe river. The relief model measures 1,855 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 6.4 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Vernayaznearest town · 1.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 490 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Pierre à Faillenearest viewpoint · 1.7 km from the floor
- Geneva International Airport (GVA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 71 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- 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 Salanfe runs highest from April to May.
The Salanfe carries about 158 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow.
- 73 m³/sJan
- 31 m³/sFeb
- 248 m³/sMar
- 389 m³/sApr
- 354 m³/sMay
- 240 m³/sJun
- 152 m³/sJul
- 126 m³/sAug
- 81 m³/sSep
- 76 m³/sOct
- 99 m³/sNov
- 115 m³/sDec
From about 31 m³/s in the lowest month to 389 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 4,664 km².
Follow the Rhône 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.
N
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmGorges du Dailley, Pierre à Faille and 14 more
- 45marked hiking routes within 4 kmVia Francigena, Tour du Vallon de Van, Tour de la Vallée du Trient and 42 more
- 12climbing crags within 3 kmDemi-lune, Miéville gauche, Vernayaz boulder and 9 more
- 27footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmGorges du Dailley and 26 more
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmPissevache, Cascade de Dailley, La fontaine des bouquetins
- 1caves within 3 km
- 93car parks within 3 km
- 19information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmCamping Les Marécottes, Camping La Châtaigneraie, Peutex and 5 more
- 40hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAuberge de l'Armailli, Les Alpes, Beau Séjour and 37 more
- 25restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots 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
- Vernayaz1.6 km in a straight line
- Salvan2.3 km in a straight line
- Evionnaz4.6 km in a straight line
- Martigny-Ville5.8 km in a straight line
- Martigny-Combe7.3 km in a straight line
- Fully7.4 km in a straight line
- Saint-Maurice8.8 km in a straight line
- Charrat8.8 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges du Dailley.
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
Peakyas154 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 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 18 | 12 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | -7 | -6 | -3 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | -1 | -5 |
| Night · rim | -15 | -15 | -11 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | -4 | -9 | -13 |
| Rain (mm) | 107 | 77 | 94 | 74 | 117 | 105 | 103 | 105 | 76 | 86 | 94 | 110 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.3 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 49 | 62 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 29 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | -7 | -15 | 107 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 6 | -6 | -15 | 77 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 10 | -3 | -11 | 94 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 16 | 3 | -6 | 74 | 6.3 |
| May | 20 | 8 | -2 | 117 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 24 | 12 | 2 | 105 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 26 | 14 | 4 | 103 | 8.8 |
| Aug | 26 | 14 | 3 | 105 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 22 | 10 | 0 | 76 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 18 | 6 | -4 | 86 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 12 | -1 | -9 | 94 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 7 | -5 | -13 | 110 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (444 m) and the rim (2,381 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 | 54% | 206% | 105% | 67% | 97% | 145% | 50% | 116% | 136% | 209% | 24% | 70% |
| 2021 | 146% | 67% | 73% | 63% | 124% | 103% | 147% | 64% | 93% | 62% | 59% | 162% |
| 2022 | 39% | 119% | 19% | 126% | 57% | 75% | 33% | 55% | 179% | 107% | 104% | 113% |
| 2023 | 72% | 8% | 186% | 138% | 76% | 101% | 68% | 101% | 87% | 167% | 272% | 194% |
| 2024 | 101% | 88% | 142% | 128% | 156% | 161% | 102% | 78% | 280% | 175% | 79% | 110% |
| 2025 | 124% | 39% | 41% | 141% | 88% | 92% | 102% | 91% | 175% | 157% | 106% | 28% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges du Dailley
Switzerland
- 1,855 mDepth
- 6.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q21509464) · 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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