shosenkyo gorge or nagatoro?

Which is prettier - Shosenkyo Gorge or Nagatoro for early July?

We went in the month of April and found both places to be worth going, especially during fine weather.

If time is a factor, visiting Nagatoro maybe a bit shorter as one of the boat rides only takes 30 min.

If you are into hiking and trekking, Shosenkyo Gorge is ideal. The 4 km section between Nagatoro Bridge and Senga-Taki is beautiful. Time allowed you can also include hiking the Itajiki Gorge. The only concern is whether it is comfortable doing the long walk during the hot summer month of July.

Thank you for the valuable information. Is the hike in Shosenkyo gorge strenuous? Uphill or just a stroll? Is this the same walk to get to the cable car? As for Nagatoro, aside from the river ride, is there much else to do please?

Do people do the hike in the reverse? i.e. take the bus to the end point where the cable car is and then return via the hiking route? Would that be better?

The section between Nagatoro Bridge and Senga-Taki is pretty gentle and it is well paved, not too strenuous but a long 4 km stroll. Note that the orange section is opened to car traffic during weekdays. Longer and uphill hike will be involved if going for Itajiki Gorge.
http://www.shosenkyo-kankoukyokai.com/images/SHOSENKYO%20GUIDE%20MAP%2...

Not that it matters much but we find travelling from the Nagatoro Bridge end towards Senga-Taki and the ropeway station slightly better for taking photos in the morning due to the lighting direction.

Time allowed, at the Senga-Taki end there is the small but interesting Museum of Shadowgraph.
http://www.kageenomori.jp/

In Nagatoro, worth a look is Hodosan-jinja which is less than 10 min walk straight up the road from the boat pier.
http://www.hodosan-jinja.or.jp/

A friend who was there a few years back mentioned an interesting eating place near the boat pier where he had some nagashi somen. We could not find the place - hope you can have better luck.

Ayu is a popular local fish and many restaurants in Nagatoro serve special meals around it. Below is just one of the better known restaurants and is said to be in business for 100 years.
http://www.ayumeshi.jp/