France Ziegler175 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
928 metres, to scale.
A slice through Holtzarte gorges 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.
928m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.2km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
40°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
444m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 27 °C on the floor, against 20 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to July and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are in January and in November.
- 8°2°Jan
- 9°3°Feb
- 13°6°Mar
- 16°9°Apr
- 19°12°May
- 24°17°Jun
- 26°20°Jul
- 27°20°Aug
- 23°17°Sep
- 19°12°Oct
- 12°6°Nov
- 9°3°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 in France
Holtzarte gorges is a canyon in France, cut by the Olhadoko erreka river. The relief model measures 928 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Urzainquinearest town · 18 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,830 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.8 km from the floor
- Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 61 km in a straight lineCar hire at BIQ airport (Biarritz)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to July and from September to 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.
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 kmErroimendy 1350m and 4 more
- 8marked hiking routes within 4 kmÉtape 06, Étape 07, Euskal Herriko ibilaldia and 5 more
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPasserelle d'Holzarté, Holtzarteko bide zaharra
- 2named waterfalls within 4 kmCascade de Pista / Pixtako ur-jauzia, Ardakotxiko ur-jauzia
- 3caves within 3 km
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 4information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmAire de bivouac, Albergue Txamantxoia, Camping Ibarra and 1 more
- 42hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmEtchemaïte, Chez Despouey, Charmance and 39 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
- Urzainqui18 km in a straight line
- Oronz18 km in a straight line
- Arette22 km in a straight line
- Garde22 km in a straight line
- Orbara24 km in a straight line
- Garaioa24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Holtzarte gorges.
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.
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas36 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 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 12 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 3 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | -2 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 104 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 81 | 68 | 45 | 47 | 59 | 82 | 122 | 93 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.6 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 2.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 7 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 2 | -5 | 104 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 9 | 3 | -5 | 82 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 13 | 6 | -3 | 84 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 16 | 9 | 0 | 83 | 6.3 |
| May | 19 | 12 | 3 | 81 | 7.2 |
| Jun | 24 | 17 | 6 | 68 | 8.0 |
| Jul | 26 | 20 | 8 | 45 | 8.3 |
| Aug | 27 | 20 | 8 | 47 | 7.8 |
| Sep | 23 | 17 | 6 | 59 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 19 | 12 | 3 | 82 | 4.9 |
| Nov | 12 | 6 | -2 | 122 | 3.2 |
| Dec | 9 | 3 | -4 | 93 | 2.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (444 m) and the rim (1,433 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 | 46% | 42% | 154% | 125% | 124% | 141% | 51% | 152% | 171% | 249% | 28% | 284% |
| 2021 | 110% | 88% | 24% | 56% | 77% | 195% | 67% | 48% | 234% | 84% | 133% | 199% |
| 2022 | 71% | 38% | 106% | 106% | 31% | 79% | 38% | 122% | 162% | 66% | 156% | 81% |
| 2023 | 138% | 53% | 56% | 77% | 80% | 190% | 91% | 124% | 213% | 126% | 164% | 122% |
| 2024 | 72% | 176% | 200% | 67% | 150% | 134% | 72% | 203% | 306% | 220% | 62% | 113% |
| 2025 | 153% | 56% | 131% | 117% | 129% | 144% | 90% | 132% | 101% | 61% | 119% | 84% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Holtzarte gorges
France
- 928 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 40°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3110976) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| 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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