Peru Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
564 metres, to scale.
A slice through Pongo de Mainique 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.
564m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
19.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
42°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
432m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In September the afternoon reaches 35 °C on the floor, against 28 °C on the rim. The wettest months are from December to March.
- 30°23°Jan
- 30°23°Feb
- 30°23°Mar
- 31°24°Apr
- 32°25°May
- 33°26°Jun
- 33°26°Jul
- 34°27°Aug
- 35°28°Sep
- 34°27°Oct
- 33°26°Nov
- 31°24°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.
Feature of the Urubamba River, Peru
Pongo de Mainique is a canyon in Peru, cut by the Urubamba River. The relief model measures 564 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,106 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 20 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Megantoni National Sanctuary.
Getting there.
- Pangoanearest town · 24 km in a straight line
- Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 173 km in a straight lineCar hire at LIM airport (Lima)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
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 Urubamba River runs highest from January to March.
The Urubamba River carries about 817 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to March. It is lowest from June to November.
- 1,301 m³/sJan
- 1,582 m³/sFeb
- 1,450 m³/sMar
- 1,035 m³/sApr
- 586 m³/sMay
- 313 m³/sJun
- 268 m³/sJul
- 265 m³/sAug
- 286 m³/sSep
- 403 m³/sOct
- 566 m³/sNov
- 1,009 m³/sDec
From about 265 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,582 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 28,757 km².
Follow the Urubamba 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.
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Plaza
- viewpoints within 5 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges 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
- campsites within 8 km
- restaurants and cafés 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
- Pangoa24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Pongo de Mainique.
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 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 31 |
| Afternoon · rim | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 24 |
| Night · rim | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Rain (mm) | 123 | 129 | 103 | 38 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 22 | 56 | 70 | 127 |
| Rainy days | 24 | 22 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 21 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 23 | 15 | 123 | 3.4 |
| Feb | 30 | 23 | 15 | 129 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 30 | 23 | 15 | 103 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 31 | 24 | 15 | 38 | 4.7 |
| May | 32 | 25 | 15 | 14 | 5.0 |
| Jun | 33 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 5.4 |
| Jul | 33 | 26 | 15 | 12 | 5.8 |
| Aug | 34 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 6.2 |
| Sep | 35 | 28 | 17 | 22 | 5.4 |
| Oct | 34 | 27 | 16 | 56 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 33 | 26 | 16 | 70 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 31 | 24 | 16 | 127 | 3.1 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (432 m) and the rim (1,537 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 | 61% | 100% | 92% | 24% | 75% | 396% | 124% | 18% | 30% | 41% | 108% | 169% |
| 2021 | 109% | 77% | 80% | 277% | 37% | 61% | 3% | 15% | 39% | 87% | 113% | 69% |
| 2022 | 111% | 316% | 121% | 88% | 79% | 61% | 97% | 26% | 42% | 11% | 21% | 63% |
| 2023 | 58% | 77% | 42% | 75% | 137% | 4% | 0% | 23% | 76% | 41% | 75% | 80% |
| 2024 | 57% | 89% | 110% | 81% | 135% | 335% | 3% | 8% | 61% | 44% | 224% | 66% |
| 2025 | 88% | 149% | 203% | 122% | 96% | 1,543% | 32% | 55% | 72% | 97% | 48% | 53% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Pongo de Mainique
Peru
- 564 mDepth
- 20 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 42°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q4794480) · 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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