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Oraovica kod Grdelice

Serbia Serbia Canyon

Grdelička klisura

725 m of rock, cut by the South Morava.

See the cutWhen to go

Dveri16220 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

725 metres, to scale.

A slice through Grdelička klisura where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

992 m1,323 m725 m17 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 1.8992 m1,323 m725 m17 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

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.

725m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

16.8km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

23°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

267m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

7 °C warmer at the bottom.

In August the afternoon reaches 32 °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 November to March. The wettest months are in May.

rim · 1,323 mfloor · 267 m
  1. 5°-2°Jan
  2. 7°0°Feb
  3. 13°6°Mar
  4. 18°11°Apr
  5. 23°16°May
  6. 27°21°Jun
  7. 31°24°Jul
  8. 32°25°Aug
  9. 26°19°Sep
  10. 20°13°Oct
  11. 13°6°Nov
  12. 6°-1°Dec
Hike: May, OctFrost on the rim: Nov–MarWettest: May

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.

Grdelička klisura is a canyon in Serbia, cut by the South Morava river. The relief model measures 725 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,056 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 17 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

  • Vlasotincenearest town · 14 km in a straight line
  • Parking 320 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Niš Constantine the Great Airport (INI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 59 km in a straight lineCar hire at INI airport (Niš)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 South Morava runs highest from March to May.

The South Morava carries about 19 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to May.

  1. 25 m³/sJan
  2. 33 m³/sFeb
  3. 50 m³/sMar
  4. 52 m³/sApr
  5. 47 m³/sMay
  6. 32 m³/sJun
  7. 16 m³/sJul
  8. 6.5 m³/sAug
  9. 8.0 m³/sSep
  10. 20 m³/sOct
  11. 24 m³/sNov
  12. 18 m³/sDec

From about 6.5 m³/s in the lowest month to 52 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 3,546 km².

Follow the South Morava 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.

Grdelička klisura seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • 13car parks within 3 km
  • 1campsites within 8 kmMotel Camping Prdejane
  • 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmМотел Предејане
  • viewpoints within 5 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
  • information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • bus stops within 2 km
  • restaurants and cafés within 4 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

  • Vlasotince14 km in a straight line
  • Crna Trava14 km in a straight line
  • Vladičin Han16 km in a straight line
  • Surdulica18 km in a straight line
  • Leskovac23 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Grdelička klisura.

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.

Peakyas6 mountains within 15 km
Deja · 5.3 kmSpasova Čuka · 9.6 kmVrvi Kobila1,041 m · 10 kmOstrozub1,546 m · 10 kmJelova Glava · 12 kmKita981 m · 14 km

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor571318232731322620136
Afternoon · rim-206111621242519136-1
Night · rim-10-9-6-149111161-4-9
Rain (mm)494656597570554848605555
Rainy days981010131210788810
Sun hours/day2.53.64.96.37.28.89.79.16.55.03.32.2
Snow on the ground (cm)161482000002514
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan5-2-10492.5
Feb70-9463.6
Mar136-6564.9
Apr1811-1596.3
May23164757.2
Jun27219708.8
Jul312411559.7
Aug322511489.1
Sep26196486.5
Oct20131605.0
Nov136-4553.3
Dec6-1-9552.2

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (267 m) and the rim (1,323 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Varoš Grdelica
Dveri16220 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Palojce 01
Geograf208 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Palojce 02
Geograf208 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202042%158%183%72%90%177%123%229%81%108%10%101%
2021399%63%139%89%59%59%115%45%52%137%92%175%
202260%55%35%88%57%111%85%180%192%21%168%120%
2023139%54%189%111%96%158%92%126%58%20%266%90%
202491%27%116%78%131%97%30%66%186%51%155%137%
202537%125%108%65%95%6%43%91%90%253%326%29%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Grdelička klisura

Serbia

  • 725 mDepth
  • 17 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 23°Steepest wall

Tran gorge

Bulgaria · 45 km

  • 505 mDepth
  • 6.6 kmRim to rim
  • 2.8 kmLength
  • 27°Steepest wall

See the guide

Matka Canyon

North Macedonia · 120 km

  • 693 mDepth
  • 14 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 34°Steepest wall

See the guide

Niševac gorge

Serbia · 68 km

  • 420 mDepth
  • 8.6 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 33°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q12277501) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here