Germany Martin Meyerspeer · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
125 metres, to scale.
A slice through Weltenburger Enge 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
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.
125m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
12°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
5.5km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 25 °C. 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 May and from July to August.
- 2°1°Jan
- 4°3°Feb
- 9°8°Mar
- 15°14°Apr
- 19°18°May
- 23°22°Jun
- 25°24°Jul
- 25°24°Aug
- 20°19°Sep
- 14°14°Oct
- 8°7°Nov
- 3°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.
Geotop in Landkreis Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany
Weltenburger Enge is a canyon in Germany, cut by the Donau river. The relief model measures 125 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 5.5 km. Rim to rim it is 5.5 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Weltenburger Enge.
Getting there.
- Essingnearest town · 4.4 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,880 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.3 km from the floor
- Munich Airport (MUC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 61 km in a straight lineCar hire at MUC airport (Munich)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.
The river
The Donau runs highest from January to September.
The Donau carries about 346 m³/s on average here.
- 397 m³/sJan
- 431 m³/sFeb
- 587 m³/sMar
- 482 m³/sApr
- 569 m³/sMay
- 489 m³/sJun
- 470 m³/sJul
- 429 m³/sAug
- 342 m³/sSep
- 296 m³/sOct
- 246 m³/sNov
- 229 m³/sDec
From about 229 m³/s in the lowest month to 587 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 22,968 km².
Follow the Danube 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
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 12 × 12 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 21viewpoints within 5 kmMaria Fels, Wieserkreuz, Maifelsen and 18 more
- 31marked hiking routes within 4 kmAltmühltal-Panoramaweg, Jurasteig Hauptroute, Ostbayerischer Jakobsweg (Eschlkam > Donauwörth) and 28 more
- 9climbing crags within 3 kmLöcherwand, Castellwand, Bischofsbucht and 6 more
- 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 4rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmKanu-Club Kelheim and 3 more
- 3caves within 3 km
- 13car parks within 3 km
- 74information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmWohnmobilstellplatz Kelheim, Campingplatz Kastlhof, Wohnmobilstellplatz am "Pflegerspitz" and 2 more
- 32hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmRitterschänke Burg Randeck, Landgasthof Kastlhof, Naturfreundehaus Hammertal and 29 more
- 24restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls 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
- Essing4.4 km in a straight line
- Ihrlerstein5.1 km in a straight line
- Kelheim5.2 km in a straight line
- Saal8.2 km in a straight line
- Abensberg9.5 km in a straight line
- Painten11 km in a straight line
- Neustadt an der Donau11 km in a straight line
- Riedenburg12 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Weltenburger Enge.
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.
Riveryas12 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas26 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 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 19 | 14 | 7 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 60 | 45 | 49 | 42 | 81 | 81 | 81 | 83 | 58 | 53 | 54 | 58 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 1 | -5 | 60 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 4 | 3 | -5 | 45 | 3.1 |
| Mar | 9 | 8 | -1 | 49 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 15 | 14 | 3 | 42 | 6.5 |
| May | 19 | 18 | 8 | 81 | 6.7 |
| Jun | 23 | 22 | 12 | 81 | 7.5 |
| Jul | 25 | 24 | 14 | 81 | 7.5 |
| Aug | 25 | 24 | 13 | 83 | 6.6 |
| Sep | 20 | 19 | 8 | 58 | 5.4 |
| Oct | 14 | 14 | 4 | 53 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 8 | 7 | 0 | 54 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 3 | 2 | -3 | 58 | 1.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (330 m) and the rim (458 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 | 43% | 238% | 88% | 57% | 76% | 162% | 64% | 164% | 125% | 117% | 40% | 109% |
| 2021 | 128% | 109% | 62% | 56% | 151% | 157% | 149% | 154% | 62% | 48% | 83% | 124% |
| 2022 | 82% | 86% | 31% | 148% | 70% | 93% | 39% | 92% | 168% | 101% | 106% | 97% |
| 2023 | 47% | 114% | 137% | 143% | 69% | 55% | 91% | 184% | 36% | 89% | 223% | 172% |
| 2024 | 111% | 131% | 57% | 144% | 206% | 123% | 99% | 101% | 238% | 95% | 79% | 82% |
| 2025 | 118% | 57% | 67% | 70% | 51% | 99% | 124% | 80% | 167% | 95% | 91% | 31% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Weltenburger Enge
Germany
- 125 mDepth
- 5.5 kmRim to rim
- 5.5 kmLength
- 12°Steepest wall
Teufelskirche von Grünsberg
Germany · 63 km
- 88 mDepth
- 870 mRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 16°Steepest wall
Wolfsschlucht nördlich von Wallersberg
Germany · 64 km
- 86 mDepth
- 1.3 kmRim to rim
- 0.2 kmLength
- 14°Steepest wall
Massendorfer Schlucht
Germany · 68 km
- 102 mDepth
- 3.0 kmRim to rim
- 0.3 kmLength
- 17°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q60054234) · 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.
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