Tõnu Pani · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
38 metres, to scale.
A slice through Hinni Valley 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: a person · 1.8 m · a two-storey house · 9.0 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.
38m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.8km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
5°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
82m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C. The best months to hike are from June to August. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are in June and in August.
- -5°-5°Jan
- -4°-4°Feb
- 1°1°Mar
- 9°9°Apr
- 16°16°May
- 20°19°Jun
- 22°22°Jul
- 21°21°Aug
- 16°16°Sep
- 8°8°Oct
- 2°2°Nov
- -2°-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.
Valley in Estonia
Hinni Valley is a canyon in Estonia, cut by the Rõuge jõgi river. The relief model measures 38 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.8 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Haanja Nature Park.
Getting there.
- Rõugenearest town · 4.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 530 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Pesapuu vaatetornnearest viewpoint · 6.8 km from the floor
- Tartu Airport (TAY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 61 km in a straight lineCar hire at TAY airport (Tartu)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Augustbest 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
1.5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 1viewpoints within 5 kmPesapuu vaatetorn
- 2marked hiking routes within 4 kmPeraküla-Aegviidu-Ähijärve haru. X lõik: Piusa-Pähni, Rõuge ürgoru matkarada
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 4swimming spots within 3 km
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 16information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 3bus stops within 2 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmUtsali telkimiskoht, Ööbikuoru kämping, Kublitsa lõkkekoht and 1 more
- 11hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmAla-Rõuge, OÜ Tamme puhkemaja, Lätte turismitalu and 8 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- named waterfalls within 4 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
- Rõuge4.5 km in a straight line
- Võru11 km in a straight line
- Antsla21 km in a straight line
- Vana-Antsla24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Hinni Valley.
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 | -5 | -4 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 8 | 2 | -2 |
| Afternoon · rim | -5 | -4 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 8 | 2 | -2 |
| Night · rim | -10 | -11 | -6 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 2 | -2 | -7 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 61 | 94 | 78 | 92 | 60 | 74 | 72 | 59 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Sun hours/day | 0.4 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 6.6 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 27 | 33 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 19 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -5 | -5 | -10 | 53 | 0.4 |
| Feb | -4 | -4 | -11 | 46 | 1.9 |
| Mar | 1 | 1 | -6 | 44 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 9 | 9 | 0 | 49 | 6.7 |
| May | 16 | 16 | 6 | 61 | 8.7 |
| Jun | 20 | 19 | 10 | 94 | 8.3 |
| Jul | 22 | 22 | 14 | 78 | 8.1 |
| Aug | 21 | 21 | 12 | 92 | 6.6 |
| Sep | 16 | 16 | 8 | 60 | 4.5 |
| Oct | 8 | 8 | 2 | 74 | 1.8 |
| Nov | 2 | 2 | -2 | 72 | 0.0 |
| Dec | -2 | -2 | -7 | 59 | 0.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (82 m) and the rim (123 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 | 77% | 170% | 127% | 104% | 67% | 120% | 104% | 75% | 94% | 103% | 95% | 71% |
| 2021 | 96% | 68% | 118% | 100% | 217% | 45% | 46% | 113% | 55% | 54% | 127% | 84% |
| 2022 | 124% | 135% | 32% | 99% | 105% | 102% | 77% | 121% | 50% | 82% | 65% | 105% |
| 2023 | 158% | 96% | 176% | 85% | 32% | 42% | 96% | 173% | 86% | 180% | 95% | 104% |
| 2024 | 94% | 120% | 70% | 204% | 28% | 74% | 172% | 91% | 55% | 65% | 107% | 114% |
| 2025 | 181% | 47% | 95% | 152% | 237% | 148% | 171% | 93% | 55% | 71% | 78% | 89% |
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 (Q12363991) · 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.




