Italy Eleassar · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
856 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gole dell'Alcantara 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
856m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
18.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
29°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
93m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 32 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and from October to November. The wettest months are from October to February.
- 14°7°Jan
- 14°7°Feb
- 16°10°Mar
- 20°13°Apr
- 24°17°May
- 29°22°Jun
- 32°26°Jul
- 32°26°Aug
- 28°21°Sep
- 24°17°Oct
- 19°12°Nov
- 15°8°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.
Valley
Gole dell'Alcantara is a canyon in Italy, cut by the Alcantara river. The relief model measures 856 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,047 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 18 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Motta Camastranearest town · 1.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,650 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.8 km from the floor
- Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 47 km in a straight lineCar hire at CTA airport (Catania)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to May and from October to Novemberbest 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 Alcantara runs highest from November to February.
The Alcantara carries about 4.1 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to February. It is lowest from May to September.
- 11 m³/sJan
- 9.7 m³/sFeb
- 7.7 m³/sMar
- 5.0 m³/sApr
- 2.3 m³/sMay
- 1.1 m³/sJun
- 0.5 m³/sJul
- 0.5 m³/sAug
- 2.9 m³/sSep
- 5.9 m³/sOct
- 9.4 m³/sNov
- 11 m³/sDec
From about 0.47 m³/s in the lowest month to 11 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 523 km².
The Alcantara 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.
- 16viewpoints within 5 kmVenus Balkony, Love Terrace, Belvedere and 13 more
- 8marked hiking routes within 4 kmSentiero natura Le Gurne dell'Alcantara, Sentiero delle Ginestre tappa 4 variante Linguaglossa, 851A Sentiero del Pellegrino Variante A and 5 more
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmGurne dell'Alcantara, Gole dell'Alcantara, Cascatella di Gravà
- 2caves within 3 km
- 15car parks within 3 km
- 5information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 6bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmVillaggio Alkantara, Area CAmper Goel Alcantara, Agripark and 6 more
- 49hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAgriturismo San Cataldo, Gianni House, Casa Vacanze da Sina and 46 more
- 9restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 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
- Motta Camastra1.6 km in a straight line
- Francavilla di Sicilia3.9 km in a straight line
- Castiglione di Sicilia4.6 km in a straight line
- Graniti4.6 km in a straight line
- Gaggi4.8 km in a straight line
- Linguaglossa5.2 km in a straight line
- Piedimonte Etneo8.2 km in a straight line
- Calatabiano8.3 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gole dell'Alcantara.
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.
Riveryas2 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas4 mountains within 15 km
Coastya10 beaches 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 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 15 |
| Afternoon · rim | 7 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 8 |
| Night · rim | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| Rain (mm) | 76 | 68 | 60 | 44 | 21 | 19 | 10 | 16 | 60 | 76 | 89 | 88 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 15 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.1 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 8.2 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 7 | 2 | 76 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 14 | 7 | 2 | 68 | 5.0 |
| Mar | 16 | 10 | 3 | 60 | 6.7 |
| Apr | 20 | 13 | 5 | 44 | 8.2 |
| May | 24 | 17 | 9 | 21 | 10.0 |
| Jun | 29 | 22 | 13 | 19 | 11.5 |
| Jul | 32 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 12.1 |
| Aug | 32 | 26 | 17 | 16 | 10.9 |
| Sep | 28 | 21 | 14 | 60 | 8.1 |
| Oct | 24 | 17 | 11 | 76 | 6.4 |
| Nov | 19 | 12 | 7 | 89 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 15 | 8 | 4 | 88 | 3.8 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (93 m) and the rim (1,140 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 | 11% | 5% | 150% | 66% | 44% | 48% | 134% | 112% | 142% | 66% | 96% | 119% |
| 2021 | 67% | 45% | 129% | 70% | 19% | 33% | 97% | 10% | 66% | 240% | 123% | 65% |
| 2022 | 42% | 32% | 56% | 45% | 155% | 25% | 28% | 290% | 47% | 40% | 108% | 32% |
| 2023 | 72% | 88% | 43% | 127% | 429% | 119% | 54% | 74% | 35% | 5% | 43% | 18% |
| 2024 | 58% | 58% | 51% | 22% | 118% | 17% | 28% | 126% | 41% | 45% | 53% | 37% |
| 2025 | 53% | 44% | 96% | 22% | 1,152% | 57% | 3% | 48% | 97% | 583% | 567% | 551% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gole dell'Alcantara
Italy
- 856 mDepth
- 18 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 29°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1536232) · 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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