Spain luimipi (foto sacada por min, no vrán 2005) · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
348 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sil Canyon 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
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.
348m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
1.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
38°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
226m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 31 °C on the floor, against 28 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October. The wettest months are from October to January.
- 12°9°Jan
- 13°10°Feb
- 16°13°Mar
- 18°16°Apr
- 22°19°May
- 27°24°Jun
- 31°28°Jul
- 31°28°Aug
- 28°25°Sep
- 21°19°Oct
- 15°12°Nov
- 12°9°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 and special area of conservation in Galicia, Spain
Sil Canyon is a gorge in Spain, cut by the Silis river. The relief model measures 348 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 419 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 1.7 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Lobiosnearest town · 4.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,230 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.8 km from the floor
- Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport (SCQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 88 km in a straight lineCar hire at SCQ airport (Santiago de Compostela)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.
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 Silis runs highest from December to March.
The Silis carries about 135 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from December to March. It is lowest from July to September.
- 281 m³/sJan
- 244 m³/sFeb
- 225 m³/sMar
- 183 m³/sApr
- 141 m³/sMay
- 79 m³/sJun
- 37 m³/sJul
- 19 m³/sAug
- 22 m³/sSep
- 117 m³/sOct
- 202 m³/sNov
- 276 m³/sDec
From about 19 m³/s in the lowest month to 281 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 7,151 km².
Follow the Silis 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
1.2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 24viewpoints within 5 kmMiradoiro de Cadeiras, Miradoiro dos Torgás, Miradoiro da Fontiña and 21 more
- 2marked hiking routes within 4 kmCanón do Sil - Santa Cristina, Transourensán
- 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmO Pozo da Ovella
- 9car parks within 3 km
- 32information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmÁrea de Autocaravanas Privada Casa Julio, Solpor Camperpark Experience, Canón do Sil
- 21hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmFabrica da Luz, Casa Victoria, Casa O Torgal and 18 more
- 10restaurants 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
- caves 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
- Lobios4.3 km in a straight line
- Sober6.7 km in a straight line
- Luintra12 km in a straight line
- Esgos13 km in a straight line
- Pantón13 km in a straight line
- Castro Caldelas13 km in a straight line
- Nogueira de Ramuín14 km in a straight line
- Monforte de Lemos14 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Sil Canyon.
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.
Peakyas2 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 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 28 | 21 | 15 | 12 |
| Afternoon · rim | 9 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 19 | 12 | 9 |
| Night · rim | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 114 | 82 | 98 | 79 | 59 | 40 | 24 | 29 | 38 | 121 | 116 | 120 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.0 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 9.5 | 10.8 | 10.0 | 8.3 | 5.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | 9 | 2 | 114 | 3.0 |
| Feb | 13 | 10 | 1 | 82 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 16 | 13 | 3 | 98 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 18 | 16 | 5 | 79 | 6.8 |
| May | 22 | 19 | 7 | 59 | 8.3 |
| Jun | 27 | 24 | 11 | 40 | 9.5 |
| Jul | 31 | 28 | 12 | 24 | 10.8 |
| Aug | 31 | 28 | 12 | 29 | 10.0 |
| Sep | 28 | 25 | 11 | 38 | 8.3 |
| Oct | 21 | 19 | 8 | 121 | 5.3 |
| Nov | 15 | 12 | 4 | 116 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 12 | 9 | 2 | 120 | 3.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (226 m) and the rim (645 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 | 91% | 47% | 129% | 181% | 92% | 82% | 23% | 269% | 142% | 122% | 99% | 241% |
| 2021 | 134% | 252% | 20% | 101% | 126% | 202% | 60% | 61% | 153% | 78% | 33% | 104% |
| 2022 | 28% | 29% | 90% | 78% | 45% | 170% | 41% | 56% | 158% | 153% | 170% | 176% |
| 2023 | 171% | 22% | 78% | 55% | 88% | 245% | 51% | 50% | 278% | 171% | 181% | 120% |
| 2024 | 95% | 212% | 170% | 100% | 180% | 120% | 106% | 22% | 231% | 133% | 62% | 50% |
| 2025 | 205% | 91% | 80% | 168% | 125% | 31% | 41% | 41% | 85% | 70% | 172% | 109% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Sil Canyon
Spain
- 348 mDepth
- 1.7 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 38°Steepest wall
Desfiladero de Los Beyos
Spain · 222 km
- 1,022 mDepth
- 5.9 kmRim to rim
- 20 kmLength
- 36°Steepest wall
Desfiladero de La Hermida
Spain · 261 km
- 767 mDepth
- 3.5 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 45°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q14916370) · 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
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.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here