Greece Canyon

Vikos Gorge

1,047 m deep, 20 km long.

Skamnelis · CC BY-SA 3.0

The cut

1,047 metres, to scale.

A slice through Vikos 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.

1,047m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

3.0km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

53°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

20km

Length

Rim to floor

8 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from October to January.

rim · 1,692 mfloor · 497 m

8°0°Jan
9°1°Feb
13°5°Mar
18°10°Apr
22°15°May
28°21°Jun
33°26°Jul
33°25°Aug
26°19°Sep
21°13°Oct
15°7°Nov
9°2°Dec

Hike: May, OctFrost on the rim: Dec–MarWettest: Oct–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.

Canyon in Greece

Vikos Gorge is a canyon in Greece. The relief model measures 1,047 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 20 km. Rim to rim it is 3.0 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Kalpákinearest town · 11 km in a straight line
Parking 1,480 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.3 km from the floor
Ioannina King Pyrrhus National Airport (IOA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 27 km in a straight lineCar hire at IOA airport (Ioannina)Discover Cars · sponsored link
In May and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at IOA airport (Ioannina)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 the river runs highest from November to February.

The the river carries about 5.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to February. It is lowest from June to August.

10.0 m³/sJan
9.1 m³/sFeb
8.1 m³/sMar
6.0 m³/sApr
4.0 m³/sMay
2.1 m³/sJun
1.1 m³/sJul
0.9 m³/sAug
3.2 m³/sSep
6.0 m³/sOct
9.4 m³/sNov
11 m³/sDec

From about 0.90 m³/s in the lowest month to 11 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 264 km².

The Voidomatis from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon

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.

Vikos Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 1.6 km

ViewpointsParkingInformationCampsites

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.5 × 6.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

29viewpoints within 5 kmΘέση Μπελόη, Οξιά, Θέα Φαραγγιού and 26 more
14marked hiking routes within 4 kmΕθνικό μονοπάτι O3, Σκάλα Βραδέτου, Monodendri Oxia Trail and 11 more
4car parks within 3 km
14information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
7campsites within 8 kmCamping RV Parking and 6 more
64hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmΜπελόη, Zagori Suites, Guesthouse Ladias and 61 more
5restaurants and cafés 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

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

Kalpáki11 km in a straight line
Asprángeloi12 km in a straight line
Zagorochória12 km in a straight line
Kónitsa13 km in a straight line
Delvináki24 km in a straight line
Rodotópi25 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Vikos 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.

Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon

Voidomatis15 km

Peakyas13 mountains within 15 km

Stouros · 3.8 kmGrambala hill · 5.5 kmKoula · 6.4 kmKazarma · 7.4 kmGamila2,497 m · 8.1 kmTymfi2,497 m · 10 kmTrapezitsa2,022 m · 13 kmTzoumako · 14 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	8	9	13	18	22	28	33	33	26	21	15	9
Afternoon · rim	0	1	5	10	15	21	26	25	19	13	7	2
Night · rim	-7	-6	-4	-1	4	8	11	11	7	2	-2	-6
Rain (mm)	107	94	82	56	55	37	22	29	82	103	129	136
Rainy days	11	11	10	9	8	6	4	4	8	9	13	13
Sun hours/day	3.7	4.4	5.4	6.5	8.2	10.3	11.3	10.2	7.6	6.2	4.3	3.5
Snow on the ground (cm)	11	10	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	8	0	-7	107	3.7
Feb	9	1	-6	94	4.4
Mar	13	5	-4	82	5.4
Apr	18	10	-1	56	6.5
May	22	15	4	55	8.2
Jun	28	21	8	37	10.3
Jul	33	26	11	22	11.3
Aug	33	25	11	29	10.2
Sep	26	19	7	82	7.6
Oct	21	13	2	103	6.2
Nov	15	7	-2	129	4.3
Dec	9	2	-6	136	3.5

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (497 m) and the rim (1,692 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Vikos Gorge (Φαρράγγι του Βίκου) by Pudelek — Pudelek · CC BY-SA 4.0

Vikos Gorge (Φαρράγγι του Βίκου) by Pudelek 2 — Pudelek · CC BY-SA 4.0

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	25%	51%	104%	103%	63%	128%	146%	154%	92%	115%	8%	144%
2021	279%	280%	300%	92%	40%	205%	109%	50%	31%	209%	190%	250%
2022	31%	99%	48%	87%	50%	143%	78%	188%	51%	51%	107%	78%
2023	186%	15%	108%	141%	199%	261%	87%	118%	64%	50%	173%	40%
2024	113%	59%	108%	110%	95%	22%	109%	122%	110%	42%	88%	99%
2025	80%	50%	135%	68%	107%	105%	14%	143%	42%	127%	413%	38%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Vikos Gorge

Greece

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

Lengarice

Albania · 41 km

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

See the guide

Këlcyrë Gorge

Albania · 64 km

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

See the guide

Osum Canyon

Albania · 74 km

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

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q15061872) · 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