France Classiccardinal · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
543 metres, to scale.
A slice through Cluse des Hôpitaux 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.
543m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
34°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
320m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to February.
- 5°1°Jan
- 6°2°Feb
- 11°7°Mar
- 16°12°Apr
- 20°15°May
- 24°20°Jun
- 26°22°Jul
- 26°21°Aug
- 22°18°Sep
- 17°13°Oct
- 10°6°Nov
- 6°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.
Water gap in Ain in France
Cluse des Hôpitaux is a water gap in France, cut by the Albarine river. The relief model measures 543 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 629 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 4.1 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Tenaynearest town · 2.1 km in a straight line
- Parking 70 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.5 km from the floor
- Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 38 km in a straight lineCar hire at LYS airport (Colombier-Saugnieu, Rhône)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
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 9 × 9 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmCalvaire de Porte and 15 more
- 2marked hiking routes within 4 kmChemin d'Assise, Cluny - Montcenis, Perrigny - Yenne
- 9via ferrata routes within 4 kmVia Ferrata La Guinguette: Le Surplomb Jaune, Via Ferrata La Guinguette: La Grotte, Via Ferrata La Guinguette: Sortie Facile and 6 more
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmPassage Babolat and 3 more
- 2caves within 3 km
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 14information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmEspace Eau Vive, Le Pré Commun, Les 12 Cols and 1 more
- 10hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmDomaine des Cèdres, Auberge campagnarde, Gîte du Trappeur and 7 more
- 2restaurants and cafés 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
- 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
- Tenay2.1 km in a straight line
- Saint-Rambert-en-Bugey7.9 km in a straight line
- Villebois8.4 km in a straight line
- Sault-Brénaz9.7 km in a straight line
- Hauteville-Lompnes11 km in a straight line
- Porcieu11 km in a straight line
- Saint-Sorlin-en-Bugey11 km in a straight line
- Serrières-de-Briord12 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Cluse des Hôpitaux.
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
Peakyas12 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 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -5 | -2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 4 | -1 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 103 | 79 | 96 | 84 | 110 | 95 | 87 | 94 | 80 | 108 | 112 | 116 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.2 | 3.7 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 8.1 | 6.8 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 1 | -5 | 103 | 2.2 |
| Feb | 6 | 2 | -5 | 79 | 3.7 |
| Mar | 11 | 7 | -2 | 96 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 16 | 12 | 2 | 84 | 6.8 |
| May | 20 | 15 | 6 | 110 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 24 | 20 | 10 | 95 | 8.9 |
| Jul | 26 | 22 | 12 | 87 | 9.1 |
| Aug | 26 | 21 | 11 | 94 | 8.1 |
| Sep | 22 | 18 | 7 | 80 | 6.8 |
| Oct | 17 | 13 | 4 | 108 | 4.4 |
| Nov | 10 | 6 | -1 | 112 | 2.5 |
| Dec | 6 | 2 | -4 | 116 | 1.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (320 m) and the rim (949 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% | 135% | 85% | 54% | 93% | 131% | 27% | 93% | 99% | 194% | 26% | 124% |
| 2021 | 133% | 72% | 59% | 63% | 159% | 114% | 196% | 62% | 111% | 92% | 65% | 167% |
| 2022 | 43% | 107% | 27% | 105% | 33% | 126% | 20% | 66% | 188% | 73% | 123% | 129% |
| 2023 | 78% | 9% | 139% | 110% | 59% | 82% | 63% | 77% | 92% | 177% | 208% | 155% |
| 2024 | 114% | 109% | 114% | 125% | 149% | 125% | 99% | 61% | 241% | 155% | 56% | 101% |
| 2025 | 157% | 58% | 56% | 107% | 85% | 103% | 118% | 92% | 194% | 173% | 150% | 36% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Cluse des Hôpitaux
France
- 543 mDepth
- 4.1 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 34°Steepest wall
Gorges du Val du Fier
France · 26 km
- 761 mDepth
- 10 kmRim to rim
- 3.5 kmLength
- 30°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q16303556) · 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
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.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here