Hiking in Provence, France
| country: | France |
| location: | Provence |
| departures: | 2008: 27 Jul, 24 Aug, 7 Sep, 14 Sep, 21 Sep 2009: 31 May, 7 Jun |
| price: | From £629 - £659 (8 days) including flights from the UK, from £529 - £549 excluding flights. Local payment €120 |
the amazing things you'll be doing
An energetic but rewarding one-week break to hike the wild mountains of Haute Provence in southern France.
This beautiful and fertile region has inspired painters and gourmets alike; it also has some of the finest walking country in Europe. The terrain is varied and rugged - a landscape of maquis, gorse and lavender.
St André & Castellane: From Nice, we drive to the sleepy, valley town of St-André-les-Alpes. Then begin our six-hour trek through forest to Castellane, a pre-Roman settlement dramatically set beneath a huge limestone outcrop known as 'Le Roc'. There's time to explore, or walk to the summit of Robion for panoramic all-round views.
La Palud & the Gorges du Verdon: We climb through woods and high valleys above the Verdon river, where the spectacular rock pinnacles of 'Cadières de Brandis' tower above us.
Then continue to the breezy, high grazing pastures of La Suech and the ruined castle of Rougon. We reach the village of La Palud-sur-Verdon and tackle the Gorges du Verdon: we traverse the most spectacular section before following a path to reach Brèche Imbert and negotiate the craggy walls of the gorge by ladders and tunnels.
Exploring Moustiers: We ascend to a high ridge at the Signal de l'Ourbes (1216m) from where we can look back to the Gorges du Verdon - 'the Grand Canyon of France'. The spectacular setting encourages us to linger and we spend the day hiking old Roman roads. There are great views of Lac de Sainte-Croix and the Valensole Plateau, famous as a lavender growing area. We then descend to the small pottery town of Moustiers-Ste-Marie (1006m).
This short, hotel based walking trip is graded moderate. Trails are usually rocky and there are some challenging ascents and descents (up to about 900m per day) but the rewards are spectacular. Luggage is transported between hotels, so you can walk unencumbered. Group sizes are approx. 12 to 16. We travel by bus, on foot and by taxi.
The price includes accommodation & meals (6 nights hotel, 1 night gite; 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches & 3 dinners), tour leader plus locally organised luggage transfers and driver.
This beautiful and fertile region has inspired painters and gourmets alike; it also has some of the finest walking country in Europe. The terrain is varied and rugged - a landscape of maquis, gorse and lavender.
St André & Castellane: From Nice, we drive to the sleepy, valley town of St-André-les-Alpes. Then begin our six-hour trek through forest to Castellane, a pre-Roman settlement dramatically set beneath a huge limestone outcrop known as 'Le Roc'. There's time to explore, or walk to the summit of Robion for panoramic all-round views.
La Palud & the Gorges du Verdon: We climb through woods and high valleys above the Verdon river, where the spectacular rock pinnacles of 'Cadières de Brandis' tower above us.
Then continue to the breezy, high grazing pastures of La Suech and the ruined castle of Rougon. We reach the village of La Palud-sur-Verdon and tackle the Gorges du Verdon: we traverse the most spectacular section before following a path to reach Brèche Imbert and negotiate the craggy walls of the gorge by ladders and tunnels.
Exploring Moustiers: We ascend to a high ridge at the Signal de l'Ourbes (1216m) from where we can look back to the Gorges du Verdon - 'the Grand Canyon of France'. The spectacular setting encourages us to linger and we spend the day hiking old Roman roads. There are great views of Lac de Sainte-Croix and the Valensole Plateau, famous as a lavender growing area. We then descend to the small pottery town of Moustiers-Ste-Marie (1006m).
This short, hotel based walking trip is graded moderate. Trails are usually rocky and there are some challenging ascents and descents (up to about 900m per day) but the rewards are spectacular. Luggage is transported between hotels, so you can walk unencumbered. Group sizes are approx. 12 to 16. We travel by bus, on foot and by taxi.
The price includes accommodation & meals (6 nights hotel, 1 night gite; 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches & 3 dinners), tour leader plus locally organised luggage transfers and driver.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Nice. Drive St-André-les-Alpes |
| Day 2: | Walk through forests to Castellane (6-7hrs) |
| Day 3: | In Castellane; walk to summit of Robion (6hrs) |
| Day 4: | Hike to La Palud-sur-Verdon via Point Sublime (6-7hrs) |
| Day 5: | Walk through magnificent Gorges du Verdon (7-8hrs) |
| Day 6: | Walk to Venascle (6-7hrs) |
| Day 7: | Walk to Moustiers-Ste-Marie; optional explorations on foot |
| Day 8: | Drive Nice, fly London |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.how this holiday makes a difference
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Exploring on-foot is the probably the best way to see nature at its best - whilst being kind to our planet - and this is one of the many reasons that make this tour environmentally responsible. To avoid damage to the landscape through which we walk, we aim to stay on existing footpaths, rather than creating new ones.
Preserving the wildlife in Provence is of huge importance and we support this by having a popular `look but don't touch' philosophy, this is enhanced by our `leave no litter' policy which means we also refrain from leaving food scraps behind which could impact negatively on wildlife. Combine the two and we can confidently say that this tour helps protect nature causing little if any imbalance to the eco-system. The local villages we stay in are supported by the money our tours bring to the area. All of the accommodation we stay in is locally based and owned by French families, in turn the income they earn from us is used to support their extended families and put back into the local schools, shops and other amenities. When we eat in the small villages we always use local restaurants that specialise in using simple ingredients to create tantalising dishes. The raw materials they use are locally produced, ensuring farmers can continue to grow their crops using traditional methods that are kind to the fauna and flora. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |