Greece Georgios Pazios ( Alaniaris ) · Attribution
The cut
421 metres, to scale.
A slice through Rouvas Municipal Unit 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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.
421m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
22°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
276m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
4 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 30 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from April to May and from October to November. The wettest months are from November to February.
- 13°10°Jan
- 14°10°Feb
- 16°12°Mar
- 19°15°Apr
- 23°20°May
- 28°24°Jun
- 30°26°Jul
- 30°26°Aug
- 28°24°Sep
- 23°19°Oct
- 19°15°Nov
- 15°11°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.
Subdivision of Gortyna Municipality, Greece
Rouvas Municipal Unit is a canyon in Greece. The relief model measures 421 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 596 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 12 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Gérgerinearest town · 1.5 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,360 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.5 km from the floor
- Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport (HER)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 32 km in a straight lineCar hire at HER airport (Heraklion)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to May and from October to Novemberbest 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.
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.
- 4viewpoints within 5 km
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Walking Route E4, Greece, Crete, Agios Efthimios, 1a Monasty Vrondisi
- 1footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1caves within 3 km
- 3car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmFlat, gravel, Flat, grass, Flat place and 2 more
- 13hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmIdi, HARIKLEIA RENT ROOMS, Eleonas Traditional Cottages and 10 more
- 16restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 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
- Gérgeri1.5 km in a straight line
- Zarós2.7 km in a straight line
- Agía Varvára6.2 km in a straight line
- Káto Asítai9.7 km in a straight line
- Moíres11 km in a straight line
- Krousón12 km in a straight line
- Tympáki16 km in a straight line
- Profítis Ilías17 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Rouvas Municipal Unit.
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.
Peakyas27 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 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 23 | 19 | 15 |
| Afternoon · rim | 10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 11 |
| Night · rim | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 101 | 87 | 45 | 29 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 50 | 69 | 103 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 4.1 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 8.6 | 10.3 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 11.1 | 9.4 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 3.7 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | 10 | 6 | 101 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 14 | 10 | 6 | 87 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 16 | 12 | 7 | 45 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 19 | 15 | 9 | 29 | 8.6 |
| May | 23 | 20 | 12 | 18 | 10.3 |
| Jun | 28 | 24 | 17 | 4 | 12.2 |
| Jul | 30 | 26 | 19 | 2 | 12.2 |
| Aug | 30 | 26 | 19 | 4 | 11.1 |
| Sep | 28 | 24 | 17 | 18 | 9.4 |
| Oct | 23 | 19 | 14 | 50 | 7.1 |
| Nov | 19 | 15 | 11 | 69 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 15 | 11 | 8 | 103 | 3.7 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (276 m) and the rim (872 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 | 105% | 61% | 126% | 99% | 66% | — | — | — | 149% | 122% | 171% | 71% |
| 2021 | 69% | 92% | 114% | 207% | 80% | — | — | — | 83% | 150% | 63% | 130% |
| 2022 | 113% | 103% | 247% | 52% | 61% | — | — | — | 149% | 123% | 69% | 30% |
| 2023 | 48% | 76% | 86% | 82% | 291% | — | — | — | 120% | 19% | 53% | 71% |
| 2024 | 102% | 60% | 39% | 27% | 139% | — | — | — | 115% | 12% | 43% | 162% |
| 2025 | 50% | 91% | 109% | 128% | 203% | — | — | — | 34% | 57% | 89% | 91% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Rouvas Municipal Unit
Greece
- 421 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 22°Steepest wall
Samariá Gorge National Park
Greece · 87 km
- 964 mDepth
- 5.1 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 56°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3562866) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| 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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