Having seen some photos, we felt we had to include the stunning Gorges Du Verdon in our trip. The ravine, some 25 kms long and up to 700 meters deep, has been cut in the limestone by the startling green waters that give the Verdon River its name. The river now flows into Sainte-Croix-du-Lac, the largest reservoir in France, formed when dams were built.

Our day began with a drive to Aiguines, where we walked up through the town to La Chapelle Saint-Pierre for a great view of the lake.  
 
 
 



Afterwards, we explored the south of the Gorges du Verdon by driving along The Corniche Sublime, stopping at several viewpoints including the Falaise des Cavalier and Pont de l'Artuby as well as at a little boulangerie where we were spoilt for choice. We also saw our first lavender, just a plant or two growing by the side of the road. 

 
 
 
 
 

The best views were saved for last at the Balcons de la Mescla and Point Sublime.


The road was quite winding but not too busy but it was a little disappointing there were not more places to stop and take pictures. Not much further and we reached the Auberge des Cretes, a small family run auberge, conveniently placed to explore the area further, with our room looking out on the Pétanque court and a herd of sheep grazing in the field across the road. Chris was pleased to see a sign advertising the match which he watched at the bar, saying there was a bit of a soft penalty for the first goal but France went on to deserve their place in the final.

 
 


After driving round the gorge yesterday, today we are walking into it! The most famous hike in the gorge is the Sentier Martel, laid out in 1928 by the Touring Club de France and named to honor the explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel. Martel visited the Verdon in 1905 to carry out geological surveys of the river and discovered the canyon. Today the Sentier Martel travels 15kms along the right bank and takes most walkers around 8hrs one way. Needless to say, we won't be doing that one! Instead, we chose the Sentier de Pecheur or Fishermans Path, billed as 6km and taking 3hrs but also a circular route so no hassle getting back at the end. The day began a little overcast, and while that made our first few photos a little dark, by the time the sun came out later and we got hotter, we were glad of it. We had a steep descent from the car park, with loose stones underfoot, but the path evened a bit. We got good views of the gorge and river below and the path took us right down to the shore before rising again with more views and a steep climb upwards. We thought we had nearly got back when we reached a wild meadow with lavender growing, only to find we had another 45mins to walk ... and not all on the flat! Exhausted we finished 3.5hrs later, after lots of stops to take pictures and catch our breath! I hope those fish were worth it!  

 
 
 



We drove back through Palud to the pretty village of Rougon as I had read about a creperie with a view and we sat and relaxed, with lemonade and lavender honey crepes watching the vultures circling above.  

 
 
 


Back at the auberge we had another great three course dinner with wine and coffee which was fantastic value for €100 a night for us both including the B&B, and Jordan cooked us mushroom risotto especially knowing Chris was a veggie.


 
We made an early start in the morning to avoid billed crowds on the Routes des Cretes, a road which runs close to the north side of the gorge and is renowned for its 23km of wiggles and 14 lookouts. As it happens, we beat any rush there may have been later, although it did mean the gorge was in shadow for our first few viewpoints. The upside was that we were early enough to catch the vultures circling on the rising air currents. Some passed so closely overhead that we could hear the whoosh as they glided by and it was an amazing experience. We were able to see the Corniche Sublime on the other side of the gorge that we had driven down a couple of days ago as well as some goats guarding one of the tunnels. Finally we returned to Sainte-Croix-du-Lac, where we had begun, and saw the docks for all the little pleasure boats we had seen yesterday. 

 
 


 

 
The Gorge behind us, we drove on to Moustiers Sainte Marie.