Switzerland Gaelbourgeois · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
2,198 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges du Durnand 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.
2,198m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
17.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
50°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
490m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
15 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 11 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from May to September. The rim freezes at night from September to May.
- 6°-9°Jan
- 6°-9°Feb
- 9°-6°Mar
- 15°0°Apr
- 20°5°May
- 24°9°Jun
- 26°11°Jul
- 26°11°Aug
- 22°7°Sep
- 18°3°Oct
- 11°-4°Nov
- 7°-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 in Canton of Valais, Switzerland
Gorges du Durnand is a slot canyon in Switzerland, cut by the Dranse river. The relief model measures 2,198 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 18 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Martigny-Combenearest town · 2.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 20 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.2 km from the floor
- Geneva International Airport (GVA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 77 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From May to 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 Dranse runs highest from April to May.
The Dranse carries about 18 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow.
- 9.9 m³/sJan
- 6.0 m³/sFeb
- 26 m³/sMar
- 40 m³/sApr
- 36 m³/sMay
- 26 m³/sJun
- 17 m³/sJul
- 15 m³/sAug
- 11 m³/sSep
- 10 m³/sOct
- 12 m³/sNov
- 14 m³/sDec
From about 6.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 40 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 651 km².
The Drance 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.
- 13viewpoints within 5 kmLa Médille and 12 more
- 81marked hiking routes within 4 kmVia Francigena, Chemin des vignes en terrasses, Piste Finlandaise and 78 more
- 4climbing crags within 3 kmChemin, La Dyure-Les canicules m'emballent, La Dyure-Eperon du Dard and 1 more
- 19footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmDurnandschluchtfälle
- 91car parks within 3 km
- 24information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1bus stops within 2 km
- 8campsites within 8 kmCamping Les Marécottes, Relais d'Arpette, Peutex and 5 more
- 57hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGite Bon Abri, Hôtel col de la Forclaz, Les Alpes and 54 more
- 45restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves 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
- Martigny-Combe2.3 km in a straight line
- Martigny-Ville4.2 km in a straight line
- Orsières6.8 km in a straight line
- Salvan7.3 km in a straight line
- Charrat8.1 km in a straight line
- Vernayaz8.4 km in a straight line
- Fully8.8 km in a straight line
- Bagnes11 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges du Durnand.
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
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas192 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 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 18 | 11 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | -9 | -9 | -6 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 3 | -4 | -8 |
| Night · rim | -18 | -18 | -14 | -9 | -5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | -7 | -12 | -16 |
| Rain (mm) | 107 | 77 | 94 | 74 | 117 | 105 | 103 | 105 | 76 | 86 | 94 | 110 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.3 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 49 | 62 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 29 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | -9 | -18 | 107 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 6 | -9 | -18 | 77 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 9 | -6 | -14 | 94 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 15 | 0 | -9 | 74 | 6.3 |
| May | 20 | 5 | -5 | 117 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 24 | 9 | 0 | 105 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 26 | 11 | 1 | 103 | 8.8 |
| Aug | 26 | 11 | 1 | 105 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 22 | 7 | -3 | 76 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 18 | 3 | -7 | 86 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 11 | -4 | -12 | 94 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 7 | -8 | -16 | 110 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (490 m) and the rim (2,772 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 | 54% | 206% | 105% | 67% | 97% | 145% | 50% | 116% | 136% | 209% | 24% | 70% |
| 2021 | 146% | 67% | 73% | 63% | 124% | 103% | 147% | 64% | 93% | 62% | 59% | 162% |
| 2022 | 39% | 119% | 19% | 126% | 57% | 75% | 33% | 55% | 179% | 107% | 104% | 113% |
| 2023 | 72% | 8% | 186% | 138% | 76% | 101% | 68% | 101% | 87% | 167% | 272% | 194% |
| 2024 | 101% | 88% | 142% | 128% | 156% | 161% | 102% | 78% | 280% | 175% | 79% | 110% |
| 2025 | 124% | 39% | 41% | 141% | 88% | 92% | 102% | 91% | 175% | 157% | 106% | 28% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Gorges du Durnand
Switzerland
- 2,198 mDepth
- 18 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 50°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q1538211) · 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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