Croatia Pudelek (Marcin Szala) · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
443 metres, to scale.
A slice through Velika Paklenica 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.
443m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
1.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
51°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
14km
Length
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are in November.
- 6°2°Jan
- 7°4°Feb
- 11°8°Mar
- 16°13°Apr
- 21°18°May
- 26°22°Jun
- 29°26°Jul
- 29°26°Aug
- 23°20°Sep
- 18°14°Oct
- 12°9°Nov
- 7°4°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.
Canyon in the Velebit Mountains in Croatia
Velika Paklenica is a canyon in Croatia, cut by the Velika Paklenica river. The relief model measures 443 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 14 km. Rim to rim it is 1.6 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Paklenica.
Getting there.
- Starigradnearest town · 5.7 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,440 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.4 km from the floor
- Zadar Airport (ZAD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 29 km in a straight lineCar hire at ZAD airport (Zadar)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Septemberbest 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
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.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmPrdežina, Anića Kuk and 14 more
- 48marked hiking routes within 4 kmAnića kuk, istočni prilaz, 825 Mala Paklenica - Martinovo Mirilo, Milovci - Veliko Rujno and 45 more
- 3climbing crags within 3 kmRadijator, Ferata
- 3footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 10caves within 3 km
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 16information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 17campsites within 8 kmMinicamp Michael, Paklenica, Paklenica National Park and 14 more
- 71hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmMichael, Ramića Dvori, Pension Neven and 68 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 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
- Starigrad5.7 km in a straight line
- Ražanac12 km in a straight line
- Posedarje14 km in a straight line
- Jesenice15 km in a straight line
- Lovinac18 km in a straight line
- Novigrad18 km in a straight line
- Poličnik20 km in a straight line
- Vrsi21 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Velika Paklenica.
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.
Peakyas19 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 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 4 |
| Night · rim | -4 | -3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 2 | -2 |
| Rain (mm) | 99 | 100 | 86 | 83 | 90 | 70 | 53 | 68 | 124 | 118 | 144 | 118 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.5 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 9.6 | 10.5 | 9.3 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 12 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 2 | -4 | 99 | 2.5 |
| Feb | 7 | 4 | -3 | 100 | 3.3 |
| Mar | 11 | 8 | 0 | 86 | 5.0 |
| Apr | 16 | 13 | 3 | 83 | 6.5 |
| May | 21 | 18 | 8 | 90 | 7.8 |
| Jun | 26 | 22 | 12 | 70 | 9.6 |
| Jul | 29 | 26 | 14 | 53 | 10.5 |
| Aug | 29 | 26 | 14 | 68 | 9.3 |
| Sep | 23 | 20 | 9 | 124 | 6.4 |
| Oct | 18 | 14 | 5 | 118 | 4.6 |
| Nov | 12 | 9 | 2 | 144 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 7 | 4 | -2 | 118 | 2.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (284 m) and the rim (788 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 | 17% | 49% | 59% | 28% | 64% | 124% | 73% | 147% | 111% | 258% | 37% | 192% |
| 2021 | 206% | 50% | 42% | 105% | 71% | 18% | 132% | 82% | 54% | 85% | 149% | 143% |
| 2022 | 46% | 58% | 38% | 101% | 69% | 56% | 59% | 57% | 139% | 17% | 151% | 186% |
| 2023 | 172% | 78% | 96% | 128% | 217% | 136% | 122% | 180% | 56% | 97% | 179% | 89% |
| 2024 | 93% | 72% | 184% | 67% | 117% | 127% | 106% | 65% | 208% | 118% | 73% | 94% |
| 2025 | 68% | 87% | 155% | 65% | 125% | 24% | 146% | 99% | 67% | 80% | 94% | 49% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Velika Paklenica
Croatia
- 443 mDepth
- 1.6 kmRim to rim
- 14 kmLength
- 51°Steepest wall
Grebenska Klisura
Bosnia and Herzegovina · 135 km
- 306 mDepth
- 1.3 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 36°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q25286969) · 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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