Legendary gorges in Ardèche

For thousands of years, the Ardèche River has ploughed the limestone of its banks and dug a true canyon, the most famous, and the masterpiece remains the famous Pont d'Arc natural arch, just at the entrance to the Gorges.

Natural is not the appropriate word, we should rather say supernatural. The legend says that it is the Good Lord who dug the Pont d'Arc to prevent the Lord de Sampzon's wife from running away with a gallant. Who was none less than the devil himself disguised as a handsome young man.

By looking at this sixty metre high monumental arch surrounded by cliffs which peak at three hundred metres and with meanders with numerous rapids, one can wonder that it cannot have happened like this!

From the end of spring, the coloured boats of the hirers are a part of the landscape. It was in the 30s that the Vallonnais experienced the descent of the gorges in canoes. With the success that everyone knows!

To go down the seven kilometres of the mini-descent, it is enough to know how to swim and to be equipped with a life vest. For beginners (more than seven years old), it is better to be accompanied by a qualified monitor.

The most popular descent runs over thirty five kilometres between Salavas and Saint-Martin Ardèche, with two days of bivouac in equipped areas at Gaud and Gournier. The less rash can also follow paths on foot, through oak forests, by watching out for the beaver or the Bonelli eagle.  The show is worth the effort!