The Grand Canyon vs. Rám Canyon

The other day we were at a part at my wife's family where the Grand Canyon came up in conversation. My wife's uncle had been in the US about twenty years ago but somehow did not have a chance to visit the Grand Canyon, and he told us how much he regretted this. After all, this is one of the great wonders of Nature. We all agreed that it was a shame that he did not have a chance to see it.

At this point a younger Hungarian brother-in-law interjected that the Rám Szakadék (Rám Canyon) was just as beautiful, maybe even more so. The what? The Rám Szakadék, it really is a spectacular sight. He, of course, has never been to America so it was hard to take his claim at face value. Plus, I have never heard of this Hungarian "Grand Canyon" that equals the real one in Arizona.

So I looked it up. As there is no convenient Wikipedia page about it, it took me a while to find where it actually is. It turned out to be in the Danube Bend, not far from Esztergom. Photographs on the net looked truly beautiful so there is nothing wrong about its aesthetic appeal. But the whole canyon is only 1.2 km in length, that is, less than a mile. In contrast with this, the Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, twice the size of Hungary from north to south. And part of its stunning beauty comes from that size.

I do not, of course, mean to belittle the Rám Szakadék, which may very well be a worldclass attraction. I think we will explore it when spring comes so we can make a reliable comparison. Until then, maybe someone else cares to cast a vote?