Albania Water gap

Këlcyrë Gorge

1,440 m of rock, cut by the Lumi Vjosa.

The cut

1,440 metres, to scale.

A slice through Këlcyrë 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.

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.

1,440m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

10.5km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

42°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

150m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

10 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 35 °C on the floor, against 25 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are from November to January.

rim · 1,697 mfloor · 150 m

10°0°Jan
12°2°Feb
15°5°Mar
20°10°Apr
24°14°May
30°20°Jun
35°25°Jul
35°25°Aug
28°18°Sep
23°13°Oct
17°7°Nov
12°2°Dec

Hike: Apr–May, OctFrost on the rim: Nov–MarWettest: Nov–Jan

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 Albania

Këlcyrë Gorge is a water gap in Albania, cut by the Lumi Vjosa river. The relief model measures 1,440 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 11 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Këlcyrënearest town · 2.7 km in a straight line
Parking 2,590 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport (CFU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 80 km in a straight lineCar hire at CFU airport (Kerkyra)Discover Cars · sponsored link
From April to May and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at CFU airport (Kerkyra)Discover CarsSee prices

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 Lumi Vjosa runs highest from November to February.

The Lumi Vjosa carries about 65 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to February. It is lowest from June to September.

114 m³/sJan
99 m³/sFeb
87 m³/sMar
62 m³/sApr
42 m³/sMay
24 m³/sJun
13 m³/sJul
10 m³/sAug
33 m³/sSep
63 m³/sOct
101 m³/sNov
125 m³/sDec

From about 10 m³/s in the lowest month to 125 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 3,227 km².

Follow the Vjosa 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.

Këlcyrë Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 23 × 23 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

1marked hiking routes within 4 kmPeshtan - Përmet
1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
1caves within 3 km
1car parks within 3 km
2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
2campsites within 8 kmVjosa, Good place to camp
5hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Mandi, Hotel Bar Restorant River, Mani's Guest House and 2 more
10restaurants and cafés within 4 km

viewpoints within 5 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
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

Këlcyrë2.7 km in a straight line
Sukë8.7 km in a straight line
Piskovë9.3 km in a straight line
Topojan9.8 km in a straight line
Tepelenë12 km in a straight line
Memaliaj17 km in a straight line
Përmet17 km in a straight line
Gjinkar23 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Këlcyrë 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.

Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon

Vjosa280 kmBënça

Peakyas22 mountains within 15 km

Mali i Golikut1,518 m · 3.7 kmMali i Leklit1,548 m · 4.0 kmMaja e Trebeshines1,342 m · 4.6 kmMount Trebeshinë1,923 m · 5.3 kmHormove1,271 m · 5.4 kmMal Trebeshine1,853 m · 6.9 kmShëndelli1,138 m · 7.5 kmMal Cajup1,260 m · 12 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	10	12	15	20	24	30	35	35	28	23	17	12
Afternoon · rim	0	2	5	10	14	20	25	25	18	13	7	2
Night · rim	-8	-7	-4	-1	4	8	11	11	7	2	-2	-6
Rain (mm)	104	92	82	61	58	37	21	25	79	98	125	131
Rainy days	12	11	11	11	9	7	4	4	9	10	13	13
Sun hours/day	3.6	4.4	5.4	6.5	8.2	10.3	11.3	10.3	7.6	6.2	4.3	3.5
Snow on the ground (cm)	6	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	10	0	-8	104	3.6
Feb	12	2	-7	92	4.4
Mar	15	5	-4	82	5.4
Apr	20	10	-1	61	6.5
May	24	14	4	58	8.2
Jun	30	20	8	37	10.3
Jul	35	25	11	21	11.3
Aug	35	25	11	25	10.3
Sep	28	18	7	79	7.6
Oct	23	13	2	98	6.2
Nov	17	7	-2	125	4.3
Dec	12	2	-6	131	3.5

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (150 m) and the rim (1,697 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Këlcyrë Gorge, Albania - panoramio (2) — Thanas Todhe (Guri Q… · CC BY 3.0

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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	36%	54%	129%	92%	51%	94%	88%	127%	75%	144%	6%	144%
2021	288%	142%	150%	118%	29%	80%	35%	24%	33%	171%	123%	172%
2022	27%	102%	49%	68%	62%	135%	34%	81%	70%	52%	117%	95%
2023	165%	23%	111%	98%	168%	172%	44%	170%	40%	70%	188%	42%
2024	92%	48%	126%	162%	115%	19%	85%	77%	144%	87%	75%	118%
2025	162%	57%	99%	66%	108%	17%	16%	221%	51%	112%	309%	35%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Këlcyrë Gorge

Albania

1,440 mDepth
11 kmRim to rim
—Length
42°Steepest wall

Osum Canyon

Albania · 23 km

930 mDepth
14 kmRim to rim
—Length
36°Steepest wall

See the guide

Lengarice

Albania · 24 km

1,260 mDepth
20 kmRim to rim
37 kmLength
28°Steepest wall

See the guide

Vikos Gorge

Greece · 64 km

1,047 mDepth
3.0 kmRim to rim
20 kmLength
53°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q3302452) · 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