North Macedonia kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
693 metres, to scale.
A slice through Matka Canyon 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: 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
693m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
13.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
34°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
284m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 28 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are in November.
- 6°1°Jan
- 8°3°Feb
- 13°8°Mar
- 18°13°Apr
- 23°18°May
- 28°23°Jun
- 32°28°Jul
- 33°28°Aug
- 27°22°Sep
- 20°16°Oct
- 14°9°Nov
- 7°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.
Canyon west of central Skopje, North Macedonia
Matka Canyon is a canyon in North Macedonia. The relief model measures 693 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 14 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Grčecnearest town · 5.9 km in a straight line
- Parking 870 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Matka canyon viewpoint near golden crossnearest viewpoint · 1.1 km from the floor
- Skopje International Airport (SKP)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 27 km in a straight lineCar hire at SKP airport (Ilinden)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- 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 the river runs highest from November to May.
The the river carries about 25 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May. It is lowest from July to August.
- 45 m³/sJan
- 44 m³/sFeb
- 50 m³/sMar
- 47 m³/sApr
- 39 m³/sMay
- 25 m³/sJun
- 12 m³/sJul
- 8.4 m³/sAug
- 19 m³/sSep
- 34 m³/sOct
- 48 m³/sNov
- 42 m³/sDec
From about 8.4 m³/s in the lowest month to 50 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,876 km².
Follow the Crna 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.
- 5viewpoints within 5 kmMatka canyon viewpoint near golden cross and 4 more
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmПатека до Шишевски манастир, Словенска патека, Св. Недела
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmTrlo
- 6footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1caves within 3 km
- 4car parks within 3 km
- 2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4campsites within 8 kmCamping Skopje, Matka Farm RV Camping Area, Matka, Nordmazedonien, Grizzly Igloos and 1 more
- 87hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmПланинарски дом Даре Џамбаз, ОК Хотел, Матка and 84 more
- 5restaurants 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
- named waterfalls 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).
Towns nearby
- Grčec5.9 km in a straight line
- Bukovik6.1 km in a straight line
- Ljubin6.9 km in a straight line
- Saraj7.1 km in a straight line
- Krušopek7.2 km in a straight line
- Kondovo8.0 km in a straight line
- Gjorče Petro8.7 km in a straight line
- Sopište11 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Matka Canyon.
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.
Riveryas7 rivers in the canyon
Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas9 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 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 33 | 27 | 20 | 14 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | 1 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -7 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | -5 |
| Rain (mm) | 77 | 68 | 73 | 66 | 76 | 57 | 37 | 39 | 68 | 88 | 97 | 85 |
| Rainy days | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.8 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 9.2 | 10.1 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 5.4 | 3.7 | 2.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 1 | -7 | 77 | 2.8 |
| Feb | 8 | 3 | -6 | 68 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 13 | 8 | -2 | 73 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 18 | 13 | 2 | 66 | 6.3 |
| May | 23 | 18 | 7 | 76 | 7.5 |
| Jun | 28 | 23 | 12 | 57 | 9.2 |
| Jul | 32 | 28 | 14 | 37 | 10.1 |
| Aug | 33 | 28 | 14 | 39 | 9.5 |
| Sep | 27 | 22 | 10 | 68 | 6.9 |
| Oct | 20 | 16 | 4 | 88 | 5.4 |
| Nov | 14 | 9 | 0 | 97 | 3.7 |
| Dec | 7 | 2 | -5 | 85 | 2.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (284 m) and the rim (1,000 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 36% | 82% | 130% | 105% | 64% | 66% | 46% | 221% | 72% | 118% | 87% | 117% |
| 2021 | 375% | 131% | 87% | 421% | 34% | 41% | 66% | 56% | 64% | 121% | 85% | 129% |
| 2022 | 53% | 217% | 54% | 101% | 56% | 491% | 82% | 82% | 103% | 60% | 128% | 128% |
| 2023 | 166% | 22% | 106% | 122% | 110% | 499% | 76% | 64% | 28% | 50% | 213% | 64% |
| 2024 | 114% | 32% | 137% | 104% | 127% | 51% | 29% | 54% | 137% | 81% | 93% | 156% |
| 2025 | 66% | 11% | 100% | 87% | 98% | 15% | 31% | 63% | 45% | 162% | 224% | 32% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Matka Canyon
North Macedonia
- 693 mDepth
- 14 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 34°Steepest wall
Demir Kapija Canyon
North Macedonia · 103 km
- 719 mDepth
- 11 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 31°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2278990) · 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
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