Skip to content
canyonyas
EN
Macocha Abyss at Punkva Caves, Czechia

Czechia Czechia Slot canyon

Macocha Gorge

186 m of rock, cut by the Punkva.

See the cutWhen to go

7oanna · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

186 metres, to scale.

A slice through Macocha 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.

508 m533 m186 m1.3 km rim to rim500 m508 m533 m186 m1.3 km rim to rim500 mvertical scale × 1.6

Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 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. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.

186m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

1.3km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

28°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

322m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In July the afternoon reaches 26 °C. The best months to hike are from May to June and in September. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are from May to August: in a narrow canyon a flash flood arrives without warning, even from rain upstream.

rim · 533 mfloor · 322 m
  1. 0°-2°Jan
  2. 2°1°Feb
  3. 8°6°Mar
  4. 14°13°Apr
  5. 19°18°May
  6. 23°22°Jun
  7. 26°24°Jul
  8. 26°24°Aug
  9. 20°18°Sep
  10. 13°12°Oct
  11. 7°5°Nov
  12. 1°0°Dec
Hike: May–Jun, SepFrost on the rim: Dec–MarWettest: May–Aug

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.

Cave in Czech Republic

Macocha Gorge is a slot canyon in Czechia, cut by the Punkva river. The relief model measures 186 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 1.3 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Moravský kras Protected Landscape Area.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Ostrov u Macochynearest town · 2.6 km in a straight line
  • Parking 740 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.7 km from the floor
  • Brno-Tuřany Airport (BRQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 25 km in a straight lineCar hire at BRQ airport (Brno)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • From May to June and 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 Punkva runs highest from March to September.

The Punkva carries about 0.87 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from March to September.

  1. 0.9 m³/sJan
  2. 1.2 m³/sFeb
  3. 1.9 m³/sMar
  4. 1.9 m³/sApr
  5. 2.2 m³/sMay
  6. 2.0 m³/sJun
  7. 1.8 m³/sJul
  8. 1.6 m³/sAug
  9. 1.6 m³/sSep
  10. 1.4 m³/sOct
  11. 1.0 m³/sNov
  12. 0.4 m³/sDec

From about 0.44 m³/s in the lowest month to 2.2 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 170 km².

The Jedovnický potok 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.

Macocha Gorge seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 1.2 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.0 × 5.0 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 26viewpoints within 5 kmDolní můstek, rozhledna Podvrší u Veselice, Horní můstek and 23 more
  • 31marked hiking routes within 4 km[Č] Luleč - Macocha - Brno Mokrá Hora (MHD), [M] Senařov - Pokojná, [Z] Jedovnice (bus) – Ochozská jeskyně (rozc.) and 28 more
  • 30via ferrata routes within 4 kmFerratový Park Velká Dohoda: Route 1, Ferratový Park Velká Dohoda: Route 2, Ferratový Park Velká Dohoda: Route 3 and 27 more
  • 85climbing crags within 3 kmKateřinský prst, Býčí roh, Saxifraga and 82 more
  • 7footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
  • 54caves within 3 km
  • 12car parks within 3 km
  • 131information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 7bus stops within 2 km
  • 5campsites within 8 kmBaldovec, Relaxa, ATC Baldovec and 2 more
  • 35hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmTerasa, Vranov, Penzion Gallus and 32 more
  • 14restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • named waterfalls 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

  • Ostrov u Macochy2.6 km in a straight line
  • Jedovnice3.7 km in a straight line
  • Lipovec5.6 km in a straight line
  • Blansko6.3 km in a straight line
  • Ráječko6.6 km in a straight line
  • Rájec-Jestřebí7.8 km in a straight line
  • Adamov9.7 km in a straight line
  • Doubravice nad Svitavou10 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Macocha 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.

Riveryas1 rivers in the canyon
Jedovnický potok18 km
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Vodopád u Boří6 m · 0.7 kmVodopády u Štajgrovy díry5 m · 1.7 km
Peakyas80 mountains within 15 km
Podvrší590 m · 3.2 kmBukovec596 m · 7.4 kmProklest574 m · 7.7 kmDránský žlíbek512 m · 9.5 kmBabí Lom562 m · 10 kmOstrá horka404 m · 14 kmSychrov463 m · 14 kmŠumbera430 m · 15 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 · floor0281419232626201371
Afternoon · rim-2161318222424181250
Night · rim-7-6-327111313830-5
Rain (mm)423641397678807364494342
Rainy days108109141314121091011
Sun hours/day1.32.84.46.46.87.27.37.05.23.21.20.9
Snow on the ground (cm)1817102000001717
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan0-2-7421.3
Feb21-6362.8
Mar86-3414.4
Apr14132396.4
May19187766.8
Jun232211787.2
Jul262413807.3
Aug262413737.0
Sep20188645.2
Oct13123493.2
Nov750431.2
Dec10-5420.9

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (322 m) and the rim (533 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Macocha abyss, moravian karst, near ostrov u macochy, czech republic - przepaść macochy, morawski kras, blisko ostrov u macochy, czechy - panoramio
damianstaroscic · CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-25 Macocha
Lasy · CC BY-SA 4.0
Horní můstek z Dolního můstku, Macocha, Ostrov u Macochy, okres Blansko
Jiří Komárek · 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
202054%163%76%24%120%223%94%146%160%253%68%125%
2021112%126%67%115%128%76%91%184%40%38%123%88%
202266%74%52%104%91%104%100%137%133%39%51%140%
2023113%66%69%187%78%61%67%202%33%99%181%168%
2024137%151%105%128%125%146%72%54%311%78%63%66%
202576%29%96%96%69%88%148%51%173%83%149%54%

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

Compare with the neighbours.

Macocha Gorge

Czechia

  • 186 mDepth
  • 1.3 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 28°Steepest wall

Vodopády Bílé Opavy

Czechia · 92 km

  • 419 mDepth
  • 8.3 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 26°Steepest wall

See the guide

Hagenbachklamm

Austria · 120 km

  • 225 mDepth
  • 18 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 19°Steepest wall

See the guide

Dolné diery

Slovakia · 170 km

  • 456 mDepth
  • 8.8 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 30°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q673317) · 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