Switzerland qwesy qwesy · CC BY 3.0
The cut
1,454 metres, to scale.
A slice through Rofla 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.
1,454m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
7.0km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
43°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
966m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
10 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 23 °C on the floor, against 13 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from October to May. The wettest months are from June to August.
- 2°-8°Jan
- 3°-8°Feb
- 6°-4°Mar
- 11°0°Apr
- 16°6°May
- 22°11°Jun
- 23°13°Jul
- 22°12°Aug
- 19°8°Sep
- 14°4°Oct
- 8°-3°Nov
- 3°-7°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.
Chine
Rofla Gorge is a gorge in Switzerland, cut by the Hinterrhein river. The relief model measures 1,454 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 7.0 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Donatnearest town · 5.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 220 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.0 km from the floor
- Lugano Airport (LUG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 75 km in a straight lineCar hire at ACH airport (St. Gallen)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to 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 Hinterrhein runs highest from April to June.
The Hinterrhein carries about 7.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from December to February.
- 2.6 m³/sJan
- 2.6 m³/sFeb
- 6.3 m³/sMar
- 13 m³/sApr
- 15 m³/sMay
- 14 m³/sJun
- 11 m³/sJul
- 11 m³/sAug
- 9.1 m³/sSep
- 8.4 m³/sOct
- 8.3 m³/sNov
- 4.9 m³/sDec
From about 2.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 15 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 216 km².
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
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 16 × 16 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 8viewpoints within 5 km
- 6marked hiking routes within 4 kmVia Spluga, Alpenpässe-Weg, Walserweg - Etappe 7 and 3 more
- 2climbing crags within 3 kmKanonärohr, 18
- 17footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmAlte Averserstrasse and 16 more
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmRofflafall
- 29car parks within 3 km
- 4information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4bus stops within 2 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmStellplatz Hotel Seeblick, Stellplatz Muntsulej Mathon, Camping Andeer - Sut Baselgia and 2 more
- 31hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSuretta, Generoso, Juan Jion and 28 more
- 2restaurants 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
- 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
- Donat5.3 km in a straight line
- Thusis13 km in a straight line
- Tiefencastel15 km in a straight line
- Cazis15 km in a straight line
- Scharans16 km in a straight line
- Hinterrhein18 km in a straight line
- Pianazzo18 km in a straight line
- Vals Platz19 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Rofla 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.
Peakyas130 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 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 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Afternoon · rim | -8 | -8 | -4 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 4 | -3 | -7 |
| Night · rim | -17 | -17 | -13 | -8 | -3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -1 | -5 | -10 | -16 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 55 | 73 | 98 | 142 | 148 | 143 | 166 | 110 | 114 | 122 | 77 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.1 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 6.1 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 59 | 69 | 62 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 39 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | -8 | -17 | 64 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 3 | -8 | -17 | 55 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 6 | -4 | -13 | 73 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 11 | 0 | -8 | 98 | 5.9 |
| May | 16 | 6 | -3 | 142 | 5.7 |
| Jun | 22 | 11 | 1 | 148 | 7.4 |
| Jul | 23 | 13 | 3 | 143 | 7.9 |
| Aug | 22 | 12 | 3 | 166 | 7.1 |
| Sep | 19 | 8 | -1 | 110 | 6.1 |
| Oct | 14 | 4 | -5 | 114 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 8 | -3 | -10 | 122 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 3 | -7 | -16 | 77 | 3.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (966 m) and the rim (2,530 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 | 38% | 89% | 94% | 54% | 76% | 134% | 76% | 148% | 96% | 194% | 11% | 191% |
| 2021 | 228% | 105% | 61% | 71% | 112% | 72% | 219% | 105% | 98% | 65% | 90% | 66% |
| 2022 | 38% | 93% | 17% | 74% | 83% | 107% | 90% | 61% | 126% | 100% | 51% | 81% |
| 2023 | 47% | 27% | 109% | 116% | 141% | 87% | 111% | 150% | 106% | 175% | 101% | 164% |
| 2024 | 89% | 192% | 257% | 108% | 148% | 169% | 123% | 44% | 183% | 154% | 30% | 58% |
| 2025 | 181% | 49% | 116% | 102% | 117% | 114% | 160% | 108% | 173% | 56% | 64% | 36% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Rofla Gorge
Switzerland
- 1,454 mDepth
- 7.0 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 43°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q682568) · 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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