Spain CRGC57 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
608 metres, to scale.
A slice through Arbaiun 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 · Empire State · 443 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.
608m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
7.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
32°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
6.2km
Length
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 25 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are in November.
- 9°5°Jan
- 10°6°Feb
- 14°10°Mar
- 17°13°Apr
- 21°17°May
- 26°22°Jun
- 29°25°Jul
- 29°25°Aug
- 24°20°Sep
- 20°15°Oct
- 13°8°Nov
- 9°5°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 of the Pyrenees Mountains in Navarre
Arbaiun canyon is a canyon in Spain, cut by the Río Salazar. The relief model measures 608 m from the floor to the lower rim. It runs for 6.2 km. Rim to rim it is 7.8 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Yesanearest town · 6.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 960 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.0 km from the floor
- Pamplona Airport (PNA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 39 km in a straight lineCar hire at BIQ airport (Biarritz)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In 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 Río Salazar runs highest from November to May.
The Río Salazar carries about 12 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May. It is lowest in August.
- 19 m³/sJan
- 17 m³/sFeb
- 19 m³/sMar
- 19 m³/sApr
- 16 m³/sMay
- 11 m³/sJun
- 5.5 m³/sJul
- 3.5 m³/sAug
- 5.3 m³/sSep
- 10 m³/sOct
- 19 m³/sNov
- 17 m³/sDec
From about 3.5 m³/s in the lowest month to 19 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 461 km².
The Salazar River 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
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 17 × 17 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 11viewpoints within 5 kmFoz de Arbaiun, Arangoiti, Balcon de la foz and 8 more
- 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmLaTorre Complejo Turístico Deportivo, Albergue Sierra de Leyre, Hostal Restaurante Arangoiti and 1 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- marked hiking routes 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
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- campsites within 8 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
- Yesa6.2 km in a straight line
- Navascués7.4 km in a straight line
- Javier9.4 km in a straight line
- Liédena9.5 km in a straight line
- Lumbier10 km in a straight line
- Undués de Lerda12 km in a straight line
- Sangüesa/Zangoza14 km in a straight line
- Salvatierra de Esca15 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Arbaiun 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.
Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas19 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 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 5 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 15 | 8 | 5 |
| Night · rim | -3 | -3 | -1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 68 | 55 | 64 | 64 | 62 | 53 | 31 | 31 | 43 | 57 | 77 | 55 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.7 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 8.5 | 10.1 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 8.2 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | 5 | -3 | 68 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 10 | 6 | -3 | 55 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 14 | 10 | -1 | 64 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 17 | 13 | 2 | 64 | 7.2 |
| May | 21 | 17 | 5 | 62 | 8.5 |
| Jun | 26 | 22 | 9 | 53 | 10.1 |
| Jul | 29 | 25 | 11 | 31 | 11.1 |
| Aug | 29 | 25 | 11 | 31 | 9.9 |
| Sep | 24 | 20 | 8 | 43 | 8.2 |
| Oct | 20 | 15 | 5 | 57 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 13 | 8 | 0 | 77 | 4.1 |
| Dec | 9 | 5 | -3 | 55 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (459 m) and the rim (1,114 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 | 69% | 27% | 167% | 144% | 123% | 135% | 48% | 151% | 123% | 165% | 40% | 246% |
| 2021 | 106% | 93% | 17% | 62% | 59% | 191% | 43% | 37% | 221% | 91% | 154% | 212% |
| 2022 | 72% | 25% | 103% | 105% | 36% | 53% | 73% | 119% | 113% | 85% | 145% | 120% |
| 2023 | 123% | 59% | 38% | 53% | 72% | 222% | 104% | 100% | 247% | 132% | 139% | 104% |
| 2024 | 83% | 167% | 192% | 52% | 145% | 110% | 78% | 256% | 352% | 236% | 53% | 117% |
| 2025 | 131% | 63% | 163% | 125% | 151% | 164% | 69% | 121% | 101% | 60% | 129% | 99% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Arbaiun canyon
Spain
- 608 mDepth
- 7.8 kmRim to rim
- 6.2 kmLength
- 32°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q971616) · 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
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