Switzerland Kecko · CC BY 2.0
The cut
1,722 metres, to scale.
A slice through Schöllenen 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.
1,722m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
8.3km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,022m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
12 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 22 °C on the floor, against 10 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to August. The rim freezes at night from September to May. The wettest months are from May to June and in August.
- 1°-11°Jan
- 2°-10°Feb
- 5°-7°Mar
- 10°-2°Apr
- 16°4°May
- 21°9°Jun
- 22°10°Jul
- 22°10°Aug
- 18°6°Sep
- 13°1°Oct
- 7°-5°Nov
- 2°-10°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.
Gorge in the canton of Uri, Switzerland
Schöllenen Gorge is a gorge in Switzerland, cut by the Reuss river. The relief model measures 1,722 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 8.3 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Andermattnearest town · 1.3 km in a straight line
- Parking 360 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.9 km from the floor
- Lugano Airport (LUG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 76 km in a straight lineCar hire at ZRH airport (Zurich)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Augustbest 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 Reuss runs highest from April to June.
The Reuss carries about 8.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from January to February.
- 3.7 m³/sJan
- 3.6 m³/sFeb
- 7.1 m³/sMar
- 13 m³/sApr
- 16 m³/sMay
- 14 m³/sJun
- 12 m³/sJul
- 12 m³/sAug
- 9.7 m³/sSep
- 8.9 m³/sOct
- 8.9 m³/sNov
- 6.0 m³/sDec
From about 3.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 16 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 191 km².
Follow the Rhine 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
5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 18 × 18 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 8viewpoints within 5 kmGrand tour of Switzerland Foto Spot, Grand Tour of Switzerland Photo Spot in Hospental and 6 more
- 39marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean Long distance path E1 - part Switzerland, Gottardo Wanderweg, Trans Swiss Trail and 36 more
- 3via ferrata routes within 4 kmVia Ferrata Diavolo
- 34climbing crags within 3 kmVia Zeichen der Freundschaft, Kletterparadies, Big Crack and 31 more
- 35footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmBlumenweg, Häderlisbrücke and 33 more
- 1swimming spots within 3 km
- 75car parks within 3 km
- 76information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 23bus stops within 2 km
- 9campsites within 8 kmStellplatz Oberalp, Stellplatz Zumdorf, Camp & Rail Göschenen and 6 more
- 56hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmGasthaus Skiclub, Bären restaurant & rooms, Hotel zur Sonne and 53 more
- 35restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 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
- Andermatt1.3 km in a straight line
- Airolo13 km in a straight line
- Silenen17 km in a straight line
- Erstfeld20 km in a straight line
- Disentis21 km in a straight line
- Engelberg24 km in a straight line
- Attinghausen24 km in a straight line
- Schattdorf25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Schöllenen 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.
Peakyas260 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas4 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 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 2 |
| Afternoon · rim | -11 | -10 | -7 | -2 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 1 | -5 | -10 |
| Night · rim | -19 | -19 | -14 | -10 | -5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | -7 | -12 | -17 |
| Rain (mm) | 74 | 66 | 87 | 111 | 162 | 163 | 156 | 181 | 120 | 122 | 133 | 89 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
| 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) | 60 | 72 | 66 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 39 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | -11 | -19 | 74 | 4.1 |
| Feb | 2 | -10 | -19 | 66 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 5 | -7 | -14 | 87 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 10 | -2 | -10 | 111 | 5.9 |
| May | 16 | 4 | -5 | 162 | 5.7 |
| Jun | 21 | 9 | 0 | 163 | 7.4 |
| Jul | 22 | 10 | 1 | 156 | 7.9 |
| Aug | 22 | 10 | 1 | 181 | 7.1 |
| Sep | 18 | 6 | -3 | 120 | 6.1 |
| Oct | 13 | 1 | -7 | 122 | 4.7 |
| Nov | 7 | -5 | -12 | 133 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 2 | -10 | -17 | 89 | 3.4 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,022 m) and the rim (2,867 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 | 41% | 104% | 85% | 57% | 77% | 136% | 64% | 152% | 90% | 202% | 13% | 161% |
| 2021 | 214% | 97% | 58% | 69% | 108% | 88% | 244% | 93% | 105% | 76% | 80% | 77% |
| 2022 | 41% | 97% | 17% | 73% | 79% | 99% | 87% | 66% | 137% | 103% | 52% | 88% |
| 2023 | 49% | 29% | 113% | 116% | 121% | 75% | 99% | 141% | 120% | 161% | 108% | 151% |
| 2024 | 91% | 173% | 251% | 104% | 158% | 154% | 126% | 49% | 184% | 156% | 37% | 69% |
| 2025 | 158% | 53% | 111% | 116% | 108% | 110% | 160% | 106% | 191% | 63% | 66% | 38% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Schöllenen Gorge
Switzerland
- 1,722 mDepth
- 8.3 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 46°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q668632) · 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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