Breathtaking Canyons of the World: Top 10

Breathtaking canyons of the world range from Tibet's Yarlung Tsangpo, the deepest on land, to Namibia's Fish River Canyon and Arizona's slot canyons.

This Finepedia guide, written in October 2026, profiles 10 of the most spectacular canyons and gorges on five continents, from Himalayan chasms to a narrow Icelandic ravine. Every entry covers its size, how it formed and the best way to see it. For more on dramatic landscapes, see the Finepedia guides Grand Canyon: Geological Marvel of the Colorado River and Most Breathtaking Desert Landscapes: Top 10.

How We Chose These

Our picks are canyons famous for their depth, size or beauty and that visitors can reach and enjoy. Arizona's Grand Canyon is not repeated here, since Finepedia already covers it in a separate guide. Canyon depth is hard to compare: some figures measure from the river to the nearest rim, others to the top of a mountain beside the gorge, so we say which applies. Facts come from Wikipedia, national park agencies and tourism boards. The order reflects overall scenic impact rather than a strict ranking by depth.

The 10 Breathtaking Canyons at a Glance

1. Yarlung Tsangpo Is the Deepest Canyon on Land

The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon cuts through the eastern Himalayas in Tibet, where the river that becomes the Brahmaputra bends sharply around the mountain Namcha Barwa. No canyon on Earth goes deeper, and it even edges out Arizona's famous chasm for length.

Key Facts

• Length: about 505 km
• Greatest depth: about 6,009 metres
• Average depth: about 2,268 metres
• Peaks beside it: Namcha Barwa (7,782 m) and Gyala Peri

Did You Know?

For much of the 19th century, British geographers argued over where Tibet's east-flowing river went after it vanished into these gorges. Only later was it proved to be the upper Brahmaputra. The canyon's climate ranges from subtropical at the bottom to Arctic near the peaks.

2. Fish River Canyon Is Africa's Giant

No canyon in Africa is bigger than the Fish River Canyon, which lies in Namibia's dry south. The Fish River, the country's longest inland river, has carved a winding ravine through the stony plateau.

Key Facts

• Length: about 160 km
• Width: up to 27 km
• Depth: in places nearly 550 metres
• Popularity: Namibia's second most visited attraction

Why It Matters

The canyon's famous hiking trail follows about 88 km of the river to the hot springs of ǀAi-ǀAis and usually takes five days. There are no facilities, so hikers carry everything they need and must show a doctor's certificate of fitness.

3. Copper Canyon Is Bigger Than It Looks

Copper Canyon, or Barrancas del Cobre, is a network of six canyons in the Sierra Tarahumara, a range within Mexico's western mountains in Chihuahua, north-western Mexico. Its walls have a coppery-green colour that gives the region its name.

Key Facts

• Area: about 65,000 square kilometres
• Rivers: six, all joining the Río Fuerte
• People: home to the Rarámuri, or Tarahumara
• Best known for: the Chihuahua al Pacífico railway

Did You Know?

The most popular way to see the canyons is on the Chihuahua al Pacífico train, nicknamed El Chepe, which winds along the main Urique Canyon on a journey of about 15 hours. Rarámuri families sell food and crafts at stops along the line.

4. Colca Canyon Is Home to the Condor

Colca Canyon lies in southern Peru, about 160 km north-west of Arequipa. Plunging around 3,270 metres, it ranks among the deepest canyons on Earth, and its sides are lined with farming terraces built before the Incas.

Key Facts

• Depth: about 3,270 metres
• Length: about 70 km
• Visitors: about 120,000 a year
• Highlight: Andean condors at the Cruz del Cóndor viewpoint

Why It Matters

The Collagua and Cabana peoples still farm the ancient stepped terraces, called andenes, and keep many traditions alive. Watching condors glide past the cliffs at Cruz del Cóndor has made Colca one of Peru's top sights.

5. Tiger Leaping Gorge Is a Hiker's Classic

Tiger Leaping Gorge is a deep canyon where the young Yangtze, known locally as the Jinsha, flows about 60 km north of Lijiang in Yunnan, China. Here the river squeezes between Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain through a chain of roaring rapids.

Key Facts

• Depth: about 3,790 metres from river to peak
• Length: about 15 km
• Narrowest point: about 25 metres
• World Heritage: inside a UNESCO site protecting three great rivers of Yunnan

Did You Know?

Legend says a tiger escaping from hunters jumped across the river at its narrowest point, using a rock in the middle as a stepping stone. The high trail along the gorge has become one of China's best-loved treks, passing hamlets of the Nakhi people.

6. Kali Gandaki Gorge Runs Between Giants

The Kali Gandaki Gorge carries its river through the Himalayas in Nepal, between Dhaulagiri on one side and Annapurna on the other. By some measures few gorges anywhere are deeper.

Key Facts

• Peaks: Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m)
• River level between them: about 2,520 metres
• Difference: about 5,571 metres below the summit of Annapurna I
• Other name: Andha Galchi; the upper part is called Thak Khola

Why It Matters

For centuries the gorge was a trade route between Tibet and India, and the local Thakali people grew rich from it. The riverbed is known for shaligram fossils, which Hindus revere as a sacred form of the god Vishnu.

7. Verdon Gorge Is Europe's Turquoise Canyon

The Verdon Gorge in Provence, south-eastern France, was cut by the Verdon River, whose name comes from its striking green colour. Many travellers rate it as the loveliest canyon in Europe.

Key Facts

• Length: about 25 km
• Depth: up to about 700 metres
• Ends at: a man-made reservoir, Lac de Sainte-Croix
• Climbing: about 1,500 routes on its limestone walls

Did You Know?

The gorge was little known outside France until the early 1900s, after the cave explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel charted it. A famous walking path through the canyon, the Sentier Martel, is named after him.

8. Blyde River Canyon Is Cloaked in Forest

The Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is about 26 km long. It is often ranked behind only the Grand and Fish River canyons in size, and unlike the dry Grand and Fish River canyons, its slopes are covered in lush subtropical forest.

Key Facts

• Length: about 26 km
• Province: Mpumalanga
• Landmark: the Three Rondavels, three round rock peaks
• Route: part of the scenic Panorama Route with God's Window

Why It Matters

The river's old Dutch name, Blyde, means "glad". It was named in 1844, when a party of Voortrekkers, feared dead, returned safely to their companions. The river is now officially called the Motlatse.

9. Antelope Canyon Glows With Light

On Navajo land near Page, Arizona, Antelope Canyon forms a series of narrow slots. Flash floods carved its narrow passages out of red Navajo sandstone, smoothing the walls into flowing curves that glow orange when sunlight shines in from above.

Key Facts

• Location: Navajo Nation, near Lake Powell
• Sections: Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon, among others
• Rock: Navajo Sandstone
• Visits: by guided tour only

Why It Matters

Flash floods can arrive even when the sky above is clear. On 12 August 1997, eleven tourists died in Lower Antelope Canyon when a storm miles upstream sent water racing through it, which is why visits are now guided and closely controlled.

10. Fjaðrárgljúfur Is Iceland's Mossy Ravine

Fjaðrárgljúfur, whose name means "feather river canyon", is a narrow, winding gorge in south-east Iceland, near the village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Its steep walls are draped in green moss, with the Fjaðrá river twisting along the bottom.

Key Facts

• Depth: up to about 100 metres
• Length: about 2 km
• Age: shaped by glacial meltwater over some two million years
• Access: a short walk from Iceland's Ring Road

Did You Know?

In 2019 the canyon was closed for a time because too many visitors came after it appeared in Justin Bieber's music video for "I'll Show You". The crowds had begun to damage the fragile moss and soil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which canyon is the deepest?

Tibet's Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon usually takes the title, reaching about 6,009 metres at its deepest point. The Kali Gandaki and Colca canyons are also among the deepest.

Is the Grand Canyon the biggest canyon?

Arizona's great canyon is among the largest and best known, but the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon is slightly longer and much deeper. Africa's largest canyon is the Fish River Canyon in Namibia.

Conclusion

From the Himalayas to the Arizona desert, these ten canyons show how rivers, floods and ice can carve rock into some of the most dramatic scenery on Earth. Many can be explored on foot, by train or from a viewpoint, but they all deserve care and respect. For more on dramatic landscapes, read the Finepedia guides Grand Canyon: Geological Marvel of the Colorado River and Most Breathtaking Desert Landscapes: Top 10.