Nepal Waglebaba · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
3,873 metres, to scale.
A slice through Kali Gandaki Gorge 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.
3,873m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
23.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
58°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
2,542m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
32 °C warmer at the bottom.
In June the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against -11 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May. The rim freezes at night all year round. The wettest months are from June to September.
- 9°-24°Jan
- 11°-22°Feb
- 15°-18°Mar
- 18°-14°Apr
- 21°-12°May
- 22°-11°Jun
- 21°-12°Jul
- 20°-12°Aug
- 19°-13°Sep
- 16°-16°Oct
- 13°-19°Nov
- 11°-22°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.
Gorge of the (Kali) Gandaki River in Nepal
Kali Gandaki Gorge is a canyon in Nepal, cut by the Gandaki River. The relief model measures 3,873 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 4,989 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 23 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.1 km from the floor
- Pokhara Domestic Airport (PKR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 65 km in a straight lineCar hire at KTM airport (Kathmandu)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to Maybest 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 Gandaki River runs highest from July to September.
The Gandaki River carries about 56 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from July to September. It is lowest from November to May.
- 5.1 m³/sJan
- 8.3 m³/sFeb
- 13 m³/sMar
- 19 m³/sApr
- 38 m³/sMay
- 98 m³/sJun
- 184 m³/sJul
- 181 m³/sAug
- 141 m³/sSep
- 70 m³/sOct
- 24 m³/sNov
- 7.9 m³/sDec
From about 5.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 184 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 3,312 km².
Follow the Gandaki River 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
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.
- 49viewpoints within 5 km
- 1marked hiking routes within 4 kmAnnapurna Circuit
- 17footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmAlu Bari, Holiday Camp and 2 more
- 48hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmYak Hotel, River Side Lodge, Lodge and 45 more
- 5restaurants 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
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- car parks within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 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).
In our other atlases
What else is around Kali Gandaki Gorge.
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.
Peakyas7 mountains 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 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 11 |
| Afternoon · rim | -24 | -22 | -18 | -14 | -12 | -11 | -12 | -12 | -13 | -16 | -19 | -22 |
| Night · rim | -34 | -34 | -31 | -26 | -23 | -20 | -18 | -18 | -20 | -25 | -29 | -32 |
| Rain (mm) | 16 | 23 | 30 | 42 | 103 | 218 | 358 | 264 | 190 | 63 | 3 | 6 |
| Rainy days | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 25 | 23 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Sun hours/day | 7.0 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 6.2 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | -24 | -34 | 16 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 11 | -22 | -34 | 23 | 6.8 |
| Mar | 15 | -18 | -31 | 30 | 7.6 |
| Apr | 18 | -14 | -26 | 42 | 7.8 |
| May | 21 | -12 | -23 | 103 | 7.3 |
| Jun | 22 | -11 | -20 | 218 | 6.2 |
| Jul | 21 | -12 | -18 | 358 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 20 | -12 | -18 | 264 | 4.6 |
| Sep | 19 | -13 | -20 | 190 | 5.8 |
| Oct | 16 | -16 | -25 | 63 | 7.9 |
| Nov | 13 | -19 | -29 | 3 | 7.9 |
| Dec | 11 | -22 | -32 | 6 | 7.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (2,542 m) and the rim (7,531 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 | 363% | 137% | 235% | 303% | 231% | 167% | 149% | 46% | 88% | 5% | — | 15% |
| 2021 | 25% | 35% | 133% | 84% | 250% | 247% | 161% | 276% | 172% | 401% | — | 788% |
| 2022 | 73% | 252% | 61% | 181% | 197% | 157% | 101% | 220% | 199% | 407% | — | 10% |
| 2023 | 41% | 70% | 248% | 121% | 117% | 88% | 148% | 193% | 105% | 236% | — | 42% |
| 2024 | 0% | 27% | 121% | 3% | 121% | 194% | 234% | 92% | 161% | 112% | — | 0% |
| 2025 | 4% | 52% | 59% | 225% | 280% | 150% | 92% | 148% | 177% | 209% | — | 5% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5769166) · 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?
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Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
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Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
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Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here