Greece Phil Richards from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
The cut
766 metres, to scale.
A slice through Rupel Pass 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 · Empire State · 443 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.
766m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
28°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
52m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
8 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 35 °C on the floor, against 27 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March.
- 8°0°Jan
- 11°3°Feb
- 15°7°Mar
- 20°12°Apr
- 25°17°May
- 31°23°Jun
- 35°26°Jul
- 35°27°Aug
- 29°21°Sep
- 22°14°Oct
- 16°8°Nov
- 10°2°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.
Human settlement in Greece
Rupel Pass is a ravine in Greece, cut by the Struma river. The relief model measures 766 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,242 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 13 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Néo Petrítsinearest town · 8.0 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,120 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Thessaloniki Macedonia International Airport (SKG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 96 km in a straight lineCar hire at SKG airport (Thessaloniki)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In April and in 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.
The river
The Struma runs highest from February to June.
The Struma carries about 79 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from February to June.
- 123 m³/sJan
- 138 m³/sFeb
- 167 m³/sMar
- 180 m³/sApr
- 166 m³/sMay
- 126 m³/sJun
- 73 m³/sJul
- 37 m³/sAug
- 35 m³/sSep
- 69 m³/sOct
- 94 m³/sNov
- 116 m³/sDec
From about 35 m³/s in the lowest month to 180 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 11,003 km².
Follow the Struma 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
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.
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1campsites within 8 kmSunny Paradise Campsite
- 12hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmΤο ξύλινο χωριό, Άγκιστρο, Πηγή and 9 more
- viewpoints within 5 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- restaurants and cafés within 4 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
- Néo Petrítsi8.0 km in a straight line
- Charopó8.3 km in a straight line
- Sidirókastro11 km in a straight line
- Petrich14 km in a straight line
- Koímisi14 km in a straight line
- Pontisméno15 km in a straight line
- Rupite15 km in a straight line
- Valteró17 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Rupel Pass.
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.
Peakyas3 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 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 31 | 35 | 35 | 29 | 22 | 16 | 10 |
| Afternoon · rim | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 21 | 14 | 8 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -7 | -6 | -3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 4 | -1 | -6 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 44 | 55 | 55 | 64 | 66 | 46 | 42 | 50 | 57 | 50 | 64 |
| Rainy days | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.6 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 9.3 | 10.5 | 9.8 | 7.4 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 14 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 0 | -7 | 52 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 11 | 3 | -6 | 44 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 15 | 7 | -3 | 55 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 20 | 12 | 2 | 55 | 6.5 |
| May | 25 | 17 | 7 | 64 | 7.8 |
| Jun | 31 | 23 | 11 | 66 | 9.3 |
| Jul | 35 | 26 | 13 | 46 | 10.5 |
| Aug | 35 | 27 | 14 | 42 | 9.8 |
| Sep | 29 | 21 | 9 | 50 | 7.4 |
| Oct | 22 | 14 | 4 | 57 | 5.8 |
| Nov | 16 | 8 | -1 | 50 | 4.2 |
| Dec | 10 | 2 | -6 | 64 | 3.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (52 m) and the rim (1,295 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 | 31% | 95% | 214% | 134% | 71% | 76% | 57% | 209% | 53% | 84% | 15% | 147% |
| 2021 | 286% | 84% | 83% | 86% | 70% | 69% | 24% | 42% | 61% | 214% | 61% | 216% |
| 2022 | 62% | 96% | 51% | 85% | 55% | 131% | 78% | 159% | 89% | 22% | 95% | 69% |
| 2023 | 156% | 72% | 52% | 151% | 107% | 111% | 68% | 57% | 37% | 41% | 181% | 76% |
| 2024 | 144% | 59% | 101% | 80% | 94% | 46% | 44% | 68% | 72% | 15% | 130% | 170% |
| 2025 | 44% | 213% | 118% | 92% | 113% | 20% | 27% | 62% | 20% | 134% | 294% | 68% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Rupel Pass
Greece
- 766 mDepth
- 13 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 28°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q7380229) · 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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