Germany Slot canyon
Almbachklamm
945 m of rock, cut by the Berchtesgadener Ache.
Geolina163 · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
945 metres, to scale.
A slice through Almbachklamm 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. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.
945m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
11.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
36°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
2.7km
Length
Rim to floor
6 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 25 °C on the floor, against 19 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from November to March. The wettest months are from June to August: in a narrow canyon a flash flood arrives without warning, even from rain upstream.
- 4°-2°Jan
- 5°-1°Feb
- 10°3°Mar
- 16°9°Apr
- 20°13°May
- 24°17°Jun
- 25°19°Jul
- 25°19°Aug
- 20°14°Sep
- 16°10°Oct
- 10°4°Nov
- 5°-1°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 Germany
Almbachklamm is a slot canyon in Germany, cut by the Berchtesgadener Ache river. The relief model measures 945 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 2.7 km. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Marktschellenbergnearest town · 3.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 190 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.6 km from the floor
- Salzburg Airport (SZG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 14 km in a straight lineCar hire at SZG airport (Salzburg)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 Berchtesgadener Ache runs highest from May to September.
The Berchtesgadener Ache carries about 11 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to September.
- 5.7 m³/sJan
- 7.0 m³/sFeb
- 11 m³/sMar
- 12 m³/sApr
- 15 m³/sMay
- 18 m³/sJun
- 18 m³/sJul
- 19 m³/sAug
- 15 m³/sSep
- 10 m³/sOct
- 6.4 m³/sNov
- 5.3 m³/sDec
From about 5.3 m³/s in the lowest month to 19 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 407 km².
The Berchtesgadener Ache 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.
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.
- 36viewpoints within 5 kmMarxenhöhe, Lockstein, Salzburgblick and 33 more
- 28marked hiking routes within 4 kmArnoweg (Kalkberge West), AV Weg 410, Maximiliansweg (Bayern) and 25 more
- 1via ferrata routes within 4 kmHochthron-Klettersteig
- 3climbing crags within 3 kmAnfängerfreuden, Dahoam is Dahoam, Südwand
- 48footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBrücke 10, Brücke 2, Brücke 5 and 45 more
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmSulzer Wasserfall
- 4caves within 3 km
- 35car parks within 3 km
- 46information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 15bus stops within 2 km
- 7campsites within 8 kmCampingplatz Winkl-Landthal, Camping Allweglehen, Camping Mühlleiten and 4 more
- 225hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Untersberg, Hotel Kranzbichlhof, Purtschellerhaus and 222 more
- 19restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 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
- Marktschellenberg3.5 km in a straight line
- Berchtesgaden4.4 km in a straight line
- Au4.9 km in a straight line
- Bischofswiesen5.1 km in a straight line
- Neualm5.8 km in a straight line
- Hallein6.3 km in a straight line
- Oberalm7.0 km in a straight line
- Burgfried7.1 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Almbachklamm.
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.
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 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 5 |
| Afternoon · rim | -2 | -1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 4 | -1 |
| Night · rim | -10 | -10 | -6 | -2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -4 | -8 |
| Rain (mm) | 90 | 72 | 89 | 85 | 151 | 176 | 184 | 184 | 135 | 102 | 76 | 82 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.0 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 29 | 28 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 20 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | -2 | -10 | 90 | 3.0 |
| Feb | 5 | -1 | -10 | 72 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 10 | 3 | -6 | 89 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 16 | 9 | -2 | 85 | 5.7 |
| May | 20 | 13 | 3 | 151 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 24 | 17 | 7 | 176 | 6.4 |
| Jul | 25 | 19 | 9 | 184 | 7.0 |
| Aug | 25 | 19 | 8 | 184 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 20 | 14 | 4 | 135 | 5.1 |
| Oct | 16 | 10 | 0 | 102 | 4.5 |
| Nov | 10 | 4 | -4 | 76 | 2.8 |
| Dec | 5 | -1 | -8 | 82 | 2.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (483 m) and the rim (1,464 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 | 56% | 197% | 92% | 67% | 97% | 128% | 136% | 146% | 137% | 167% | 37% | 121% |
| 2021 | 102% | 57% | 94% | 74% | 124% | 64% | 131% | 135% | 61% | 48% | 146% | 125% |
| 2022 | 77% | 133% | 22% | 113% | 101% | 113% | 90% | 86% | 131% | 99% | 124% | 75% |
| 2023 | 76% | 104% | 126% | 182% | 108% | 55% | 116% | 150% | 36% | 94% | 282% | 207% |
| 2024 | 88% | 111% | 99% | 120% | 114% | 148% | 99% | 89% | 209% | 110% | 34% | 92% |
| 2025 | 51% | 36% | 126% | 58% | 102% | 81% | 154% | 76% | 92% | 87% | 115% | 25% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2649636) · 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.






