André Corboz · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
1,964 metres, to scale.
A slice through Gorges du Trient 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.
1,964m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
8.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
49°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
447m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
13 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 13 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in September. The rim freezes at night from October to May.
- 6°-7°Jan
- 6°-7°Feb
- 9°-4°Mar
- 15°2°Apr
- 20°7°May
- 24°11°Jun
- 26°13°Jul
- 26°13°Aug
- 22°9°Sep
- 18°5°Oct
- 12°-2°Nov
- 7°-6°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.
Landscape/natural monument of national importance in Switzerland
Gorges du Trient is a gorge in Switzerland, cut by the Trient river. The relief model measures 1,964 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 8.5 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Trient Valley Regional Nature Park.
Getting there.
- Vernayaznearest town · 1.1 km in a straight line
- Parking 960 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.0 km from the floor
- Geneva International Airport (GVA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 72 km in a straight lineCar hire at GVA airport (Geneva)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- 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 Trient runs highest from April to May.
The Trient carries about 4.3 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow.
- 2.8 m³/sJan
- 2.1 m³/sFeb
- 5.8 m³/sMar
- 8.3 m³/sApr
- 7.7 m³/sMay
- 5.7 m³/sJun
- 4.2 m³/sJul
- 3.7 m³/sAug
- 2.9 m³/sSep
- 2.9 m³/sOct
- 3.2 m³/sNov
- 3.5 m³/sDec
From about 2.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 8.3 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 160 km².
Follow the Rhône from source to mouth on Riveryas
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
5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 18 × 18 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 19viewpoints within 5 kmGorges du Dailley and 18 more
- 68marked hiking routes within 4 kmVia Francigena, Tour du Vallon de Van, Tour de la Vallée du Trient and 65 more
- 11climbing crags within 3 kmDemi-lune, Miéville gauche, Vernayaz boulder and 8 more
- 52footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 3named waterfalls within 4 kmPissevache, Cascade de Dailley, La fontaine des bouquetins
- 1caves within 3 km
- 153car parks within 3 km
- 27information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmCamping Les Marécottes, Camping La Châtaigneraie, Peutex and 6 more
- 45hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHôtel col de la Forclaz, Auberge de l'Armailli, Les Alpes and 42 more
- 88restaurants 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
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
- Vernayaz1.1 km in a straight line
- Salvan1.4 km in a straight line
- Martigny-Ville4.0 km in a straight line
- Martigny-Combe5.6 km in a straight line
- Evionnaz6.0 km in a straight line
- Fully6.3 km in a straight line
- Charrat7.4 km in a straight line
- Saint-Maurice10 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Gorges du Trient.
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 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 18 | 12 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | -7 | -7 | -4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 5 | -2 | -6 |
| Night · rim | -16 | -16 | -12 | -7 | -3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -1 | -5 | -9 | -14 |
| 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 | -7 | -16 | 107 | 3.3 |
| Feb | 6 | -7 | -16 | 77 | 4.5 |
| Mar | 9 | -4 | -12 | 94 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 15 | 2 | -7 | 74 | 6.3 |
| May | 20 | 7 | -3 | 117 | 6.6 |
| Jun | 24 | 11 | 2 | 105 | 8.5 |
| Jul | 26 | 13 | 3 | 103 | 8.8 |
| Aug | 26 | 13 | 3 | 105 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 22 | 9 | -1 | 76 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 18 | 5 | -5 | 86 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 12 | -2 | -9 | 94 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 7 | -6 | -14 | 110 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (447 m) and the rim (2,446 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.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q22702344) · 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.






