Bosnia and Herzegovina / Montenegro Canyon World Heritage
Tara River Canyon
913 m of rock, cut by the Tara.
Milan Radovic · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
913 metres, to scale.
A slice through Tara River Canyon 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.
913m
Depth
published figure: 1,333 m
4.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
46°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
82km
Length
Rim to floor
7 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 27 °C on the floor, against 20 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in September. The rim freezes at night from November to April.
- 5°-2°Jan
- 6°-1°Feb
- 11°4°Mar
- 16°9°Apr
- 21°14°May
- 24°18°Jun
- 27°20°Jul
- 27°20°Aug
- 22°15°Sep
- 18°11°Oct
- 12°5°Nov
- 6°-1°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.
River canyon in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tara River Canyon is a canyon in Bosnia and Herzegovina, cut by the Tara river. The relief model measures 913 m from the floor to the lower rim. The published depth is 1,333 m. It runs for 82 km. Rim to rim it is 4.7 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Durmitor National Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there.
- Žabljaknearest town · 14 km in a straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 6.0 km from the floor
- Sarajevo International Airport (SJJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 84 km in a straight lineCar hire at SJJ airport (Sarajevo)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 Tara runs highest from November to May.
The Tara carries about 47 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to May.
- 131 m³/sJan
- 132 m³/sFeb
- 149 m³/sMar
- 133 m³/sApr
- 107 m³/sMay
- 93 m³/sJun
- 44 m³/sJul
- 12 m³/sAug
- 46 m³/sSep
- 82 m³/sOct
- 124 m³/sNov
- 120 m³/sDec
From about 12 m³/s in the lowest month to 149 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,428 km².
Follow the Tara 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
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 10 × 10 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmBijela vrela
- 6caves within 3 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmEco Village Milogora, Rafting Tara, Rafting kamp Encijan
- 11hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHousehold Šain - Katun Sokolovina, Eko-Selo Durmitor, Sušica, planinarski dom and 8 more
- 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
- car parks within 3 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- bus stops within 2 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
- Žabljak14 km in a straight line
- Plužine18 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Tara River Canyon.
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.
Peakyas171 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 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 18 | 12 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | -2 | -1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 5 | -1 |
| Night · rim | -10 | -9 | -6 | -2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | -4 | -8 |
| Rain (mm) | 89 | 87 | 86 | 74 | 86 | 100 | 65 | 55 | 84 | 92 | 108 | 100 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 9.0 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 16 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 15 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | -2 | -10 | 89 | 3.0 |
| Feb | 6 | -1 | -9 | 87 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 11 | 4 | -6 | 86 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 16 | 9 | -2 | 74 | 5.5 |
| May | 21 | 14 | 2 | 86 | 6.7 |
| Jun | 24 | 18 | 7 | 100 | 8.6 |
| Jul | 27 | 20 | 8 | 65 | 9.6 |
| Aug | 27 | 20 | 8 | 55 | 9.0 |
| Sep | 22 | 15 | 4 | 84 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 18 | 11 | 0 | 92 | 5.1 |
| Nov | 12 | 5 | -4 | 108 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 6 | -1 | -8 | 100 | 2.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (534 m) and the rim (1,582 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 | 47% | 68% | 78% | 52% | 89% | 411% | 93% | 241% | 113% | 121% | 16% | 158% |
| 2021 | 232% | 77% | 78% | 113% | 82% | 41% | 109% | 112% | 49% | 137% | 137% | 169% |
| 2022 | 52% | 84% | 54% | 92% | 95% | 68% | 103% | 95% | 138% | 12% | 137% | 142% |
| 2023 | 232% | 89% | 74% | 224% | 160% | 143% | 98% | 152% | 77% | 58% | 208% | 61% |
| 2024 | 85% | 90% | 98% | 64% | 129% | 54% | 95% | 68% | 174% | 87% | 76% | 116% |
| 2025 | 66% | 70% | 174% | 106% | 95% | 16% | 116% | 156% | 111% | 115% | 146% | 35% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Tara River Canyon
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 913 mDepth
- 4.7 kmRim to rim
- 82 kmLength
- 46°Steepest wall
Nevidio Canyon
Montenegro · 31 km
- 1,179 mDepth
- 15 kmRim to rim
- 1.7 kmLength
- 47°Steepest wall
Čude Canyon
Bosnia and Herzegovina · 103 km
- 573 mDepth
- 12 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 24°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2574575) · 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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