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Tolminka-HudicevMost2

Slovenia Slovenia Slot canyon

Tolmin Gorges

918 m of rock, cut by the Soča.

See the cutWhen to go

Sl-Ziga · Public domain

The cut

918 metres, to scale.

A slice through Tolmin Gorges where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

1,206 m1,063 m918 m15 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 1.51,206 m1,063 m918 m15 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

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. This is a narrow canyon: the published depth, where there is one, is the better figure.

918m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

14.6km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

39°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

144m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

7 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 22 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and from September to October. The rim freezes at night from December to March. The wettest months are in November: in a narrow canyon a flash flood arrives without warning, even from rain upstream.

rim · 1,206 mfloor · 144 m
  1. 6°-1°Jan
  2. 7°0°Feb
  3. 12°5°Mar
  4. 17°10°Apr
  5. 22°15°May
  6. 26°19°Jun
  7. 29°22°Jul
  8. 29°22°Aug
  9. 23°16°Sep
  10. 18°11°Oct
  11. 12°5°Nov
  12. 7°0°Dec
Hike: May, Sep–OctFrost on the rim: Dec–MarWettest: Nov

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.

Tolmin Gorges is a slot canyon in Slovenia, cut by the Soča river. The relief model measures 918 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,062 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 15 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

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 Soča runs highest in March and from October to December.

The Soča carries about 26 m³/s on average here. It runs highest in March and from October to December.

  1. 23 m³/sJan
  2. 25 m³/sFeb
  3. 32 m³/sMar
  4. 28 m³/sApr
  5. 24 m³/sMay
  6. 14 m³/sJun
  7. 5.8 m³/sJul
  8. 8.6 m³/sAug
  9. 26 m³/sSep
  10. 37 m³/sOct
  11. 48 m³/sNov
  12. 39 m³/sDec

From about 5.8 m³/s in the lowest month to 48 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 548 km².

Follow the Soča 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.

Tolmin Gorges seen from above (Sentinel-2) 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.

  • 16viewpoints within 5 kmRazgledališče Bučenica 3, Vpisna knjiga, Razgledna točka Senica and 13 more
  • 15marked hiking routes within 4 kmEuropean long distance path E7 - part Slovenia, Slovenska geološka pot, Tematska pot Lom je moj dom and 12 more
  • 1climbing crags within 3 kmSenica
  • 13footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmGrajska Učna pot and 12 more
  • 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • 3named waterfalls within 4 kmSlap Beri, Nad Bino skalo, Slapovi Sopotnice
  • 22caves within 3 km
  • 65car parks within 3 km
  • 18information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 4bus stops within 2 km
  • 10campsites within 8 kmKamp Siber, Kemp na zeptání, Glamping Petrin and 7 more
  • 39hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHotel Dvorec, Blazar, Koča na planini Stador and 36 more
  • 21restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • swimming spots 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

  • Tolmin0.4 km in a straight line
  • Cras8.8 km in a straight line
  • Clodig11 km in a straight line
  • Kanal13 km in a straight line
  • Kobarid14 km in a straight line
  • Deskle17 km in a straight line
  • Merso di Sopra17 km in a straight line
  • Bohinjska Bistrica20 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Tolmin Gorges.

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.

Cascadyas1 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Sopota · 3.0 km
Peakyas24 mountains within 15 km
Vogel1,922 m · 11 kmVrh nad Škrbino2,054 m · 12 kmTolminski Kuk2,086 m · 12 kmPodrta gora2,061 m · 12 kmRodica1,966 m · 13 kmBatognica2,164 m · 13 kmMahavšček2,008 m · 14 kmKrn2,244 m · 14 km

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor671217222629292318127
Afternoon · rim-1051015192222161150
Night · rim-8-7-41510121162-2-6
Rain (mm)657677759686819511611112196
Rainy days889121414131312121210
Sun hours/day3.84.65.65.76.27.48.27.35.94.63.13.4
Snow on the ground (cm)141472000001512
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan6-1-8653.8
Feb70-7764.6
Mar125-4775.6
Apr17101755.7
May22155966.2
Jun261910867.4
Jul292212818.2
Aug292211957.3
Sep231661165.9
Oct181121114.6
Nov125-21213.1
Dec70-6963.4

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (144 m) and the rim (1,206 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Dante's Bridge
Tiia Monto · CC BY-SA 3.0
Gorges près de Tolmin (2732755684)
sylaf from France · CC BY 2.0
Tolmin Gorge (4945507933)
Samuel Leach from Trieste, Italy · CC BY 2.0

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202035%57%142%37%96%199%110%176%108%217%30%284%
2021244%131%44%141%260%40%152%113%59%73%136%105%
202274%64%51%113%70%67%93%93%268%52%105%198%
2023213%28%112%144%160%142%257%253%71%254%162%166%
2024199%179%232%143%237%147%118%74%219%221%49%55%
2025221%83%219%119%142%45%201%120%146%148%114%27%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Tolmin Gorges

Slovenia

  • 918 mDepth
  • 15 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 39°Steepest wall

Vintgar Gorge

Slovenia · 39 km

  • 953 mDepth
  • 19 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 37°Steepest wall

See the guide

Pokljuka Gorge

Slovenia · 35 km

  • 855 mDepth
  • 17 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 38°Steepest wall

See the guide

Hell Gorge

Slovenia · 55 km

  • 444 mDepth
  • 3.1 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 27°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q1983976) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here