Syrio · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,521 metres, to scale.
A slice through Orrido di Ponte Alto 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.
1,521m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
16.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
55°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
184m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
11 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 17 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from November to April. The wettest months are in August and in November.
- 7°-4°Jan
- 9°-3°Feb
- 13°2°Mar
- 18°6°Apr
- 22°11°May
- 27°15°Jun
- 29°17°Jul
- 28°17°Aug
- 24°12°Sep
- 19°8°Oct
- 13°2°Nov
- 8°-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.
Orrido di Ponte Alto is a canyon in Italy, cut by the Rio Salé. The relief model measures 1,521 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 16 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Povonearest town · 0.8 km in a straight line
- Parking 600 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.2 km from the floor
- Bolzano Airport (BZO)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 45 km in a straight lineCar hire at BZO airport (Bolzano)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May 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.
- 82viewpoints within 5 kmCima Celva, Terrazza Panoramica della Grotta, Batteria Mitragliatrici / Maschinengewehr Batterie and 79 more
- 60marked hiking routes within 4 kmSenter del Lof, Sentiero di Santa Colomba, Sentiero vecchio di Campél and 57 more
- 1via ferrata routes within 4 kmVia ferrata "Giordano Bertotti"
- 29climbing crags within 3 kmPalestra di roccia Sanbàpolis, Falesia di Celva, Calisio storica and 26 more
- 84footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmCascata di Sardagna
- 5caves within 3 km
- 847car parks within 3 km
- 64information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 145bus stops within 2 km
- 17campsites within 8 kmFleiola, Caldonazzo Family Collection, Punta Indiani and 14 more
- 137hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAlbergo Comparsa, Belvedere, Hotel America and 134 more
- 283restaurants and cafés 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
- Povo0.8 km in a straight line
- Trento2.4 km in a straight line
- Civezzano3.3 km in a straight line
- Ravina4.8 km in a straight line
- Madrano-Canzolino5.3 km in a straight line
- Meano6.2 km in a straight line
- Cadine6.6 km in a straight line
- Fornace6.6 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Orrido di Ponte Alto.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 7 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 13 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | -4 | -3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 2 | -3 |
| Night · rim | -13 | -11 | -7 | -3 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | -2 | -6 | -11 |
| Rain (mm) | 38 | 50 | 57 | 78 | 106 | 97 | 98 | 109 | 92 | 99 | 109 | 58 |
| Rainy days | 6 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.5 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 18 | 18 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 17 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | -4 | -13 | 38 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 9 | -3 | -11 | 50 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 13 | 2 | -7 | 57 | 6.6 |
| Apr | 18 | 6 | -3 | 78 | 6.1 |
| May | 22 | 11 | 1 | 106 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 27 | 15 | 6 | 97 | 7.4 |
| Jul | 29 | 17 | 8 | 98 | 8.0 |
| Aug | 28 | 17 | 8 | 109 | 7.2 |
| Sep | 24 | 12 | 3 | 92 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 19 | 8 | -2 | 99 | 5.1 |
| Nov | 13 | 2 | -6 | 109 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 8 | -3 | -11 | 58 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (184 m) and the rim (1,932 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 | 27% | 14% | 111% | 47% | 72% | 136% | 86% | 196% | 83% | 198% | 10% | 326% |
| 2021 | 234% | 67% | 27% | 83% | 130% | 55% | 138% | 88% | 84% | 71% | 123% | 45% |
| 2022 | 56% | 49% | 12% | 81% | 66% | 71% | 105% | 85% | 306% | 39% | 60% | 85% |
| 2023 | 103% | 6% | 51% | 86% | 165% | 103% | 152% | 100% | 50% | 153% | 68% | 91% |
| 2024 | 168% | 168% | 153% | 73% | 175% | 167% | 104% | 45% | 205% | 213% | 7% | 59% |
| 2025 | 155% | 62% | 135% | 107% | 121% | 58% | 160% | 170% | 207% | 70% | 137% | 70% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q64627094) · 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
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.






