Italy Francescogb · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
1,512 metres, to scale.
A slice through Orrido di Bellano 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.
1,512m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
18.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
41°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
197m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
14 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 28 °C on the floor, against 14 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from October to April. The wettest months are in May and in November.
- 7°-7°Jan
- 8°-5°Feb
- 13°-1°Mar
- 17°4°Apr
- 22°8°May
- 26°12°Jun
- 28°14°Jul
- 27°14°Aug
- 23°10°Sep
- 18°5°Oct
- 13°-1°Nov
- 8°-6°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.
Natural park with waterfall located in a canyon dating back to 15 million years ago
Orrido di Bellano is a canyon in Italy. The relief model measures 1,512 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 2,093 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 18 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Bellanonearest town · 0.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 330 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Castello di Vezionearest viewpoint · 0.9 km from the floor
- Lugano Airport (LUG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 31 km in a straight lineCar hire at BGY airport (Orio al Serio)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May 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 the river runs highest from April to June and from October to November.
The the river carries about 4.9 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June and from October to November.
- 2.5 m³/sJan
- 2.6 m³/sFeb
- 4.1 m³/sMar
- 5.6 m³/sApr
- 7.8 m³/sMay
- 6.6 m³/sJun
- 4.6 m³/sJul
- 4.7 m³/sAug
- 4.4 m³/sSep
- 5.5 m³/sOct
- 8.1 m³/sNov
- 4.9 m³/sDec
From about 2.5 m³/s in the lowest month to 8.1 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 163 km².
Follow the Adda 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.
- 55viewpoints within 5 kmBelvedere della Val dell'Arna, Croce del Gallo, Belvedere di Camaggiore and 52 more
- 41marked hiking routes within 4 kmAnello del Monte Muggio, Antica Via Regina, Greenway Dei Patriarchi and 38 more
- 6via ferrata routes within 4 kmsentiero attrezzato, Ferrata Galleria di Morcate, percorso alpinistico del Pointisel and 3 more
- 1climbing crags within 3 kmFalesia dei Ghez
- 32footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 8rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 73car parks within 3 km
- 45information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 32bus stops within 2 km
- 10campsites within 8 kmCamping La Fasana, Campeggio Tourisport, Camping Europa and 7 more
- 149hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Belvedere, Grand Hotel Victoria, Hotel Garni Corona and 146 more
- 87restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 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
- Bellano0.3 km in a straight line
- Vendrogno2.1 km in a straight line
- Perledo3.1 km in a straight line
- Dervio3.8 km in a straight line
- San Siro3.8 km in a straight line
- Varenna3.9 km in a straight line
- Taceno5.1 km in a straight line
- Cremia5.5 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Orrido di Bellano.
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.
Cascadyas9 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas143 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures 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 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | -7 | -5 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 5 | -1 | -6 |
| Night · rim | -14 | -13 | -9 | -5 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | -3 | -8 | -13 |
| Rain (mm) | 57 | 63 | 72 | 105 | 140 | 123 | 111 | 130 | 105 | 116 | 149 | 78 |
| Rainy days | 8 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.2 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 21 | 19 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 18 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | -7 | -14 | 57 | 4.2 |
| Feb | 8 | -5 | -13 | 63 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 13 | -1 | -9 | 72 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 17 | 4 | -5 | 105 | 5.9 |
| May | 22 | 8 | 0 | 140 | 5.7 |
| Jun | 26 | 12 | 4 | 123 | 7.4 |
| Jul | 28 | 14 | 6 | 111 | 7.9 |
| Aug | 27 | 14 | 6 | 130 | 7.1 |
| Sep | 23 | 10 | 2 | 105 | 6.1 |
| Oct | 18 | 5 | -3 | 116 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 13 | -1 | -8 | 149 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 8 | -6 | -13 | 78 | 3.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (197 m) and the rim (2,290 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 | 36% | 30% | 125% | 58% | 89% | 168% | 79% | 130% | 105% | 200% | 5% | 224% |
| 2021 | 209% | 91% | 20% | 78% | 92% | 48% | 187% | 81% | 95% | 78% | 96% | 43% |
| 2022 | 30% | 55% | 19% | 61% | 73% | 88% | 82% | 76% | 106% | 83% | 53% | 80% |
| 2023 | 56% | 12% | 70% | 91% | 137% | 87% | 122% | 126% | 99% | 173% | 75% | 124% |
| 2024 | 111% | 269% | 282% | 98% | 200% | 210% | 119% | 41% | 205% | 209% | 12% | 39% |
| 2025 | 236% | 64% | 163% | 105% | 129% | 83% | 184% | 154% | 197% | 59% | 63% | 52% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Orrido di Bellano
Italy
- 1,512 mDepth
- 18 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 41°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3886164) · 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?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here