Kayaking Verdon Gorge

43°44'44.0"N 6°05'11.1"E Gorge du Verdon, Provence

Weaving through the olive groves, lavender fields, vineyards, swimming pools, Mediterranean pine forests and chateau of Provence you will find France’s deepest gorge; the Gorge du Verdon.

After all, this is the region where the Alps meets the Riveria.

As you move away from the coast, one quickly gets into hill country and very soon after that into the limestone massifs of the Alpine foothills. The air is hot and the land is arid but though the climate here is generally dry, this is an area crossed by rivers flowing down from the snowy peaks of the Alps. Over millions of years, they have carved deep valleys in the limestone, none of them longer and deeper than that of the Verdon.

From its source near the Italian Border, the Verdon runs south as far as Castellane, then west to join the Durance near Manosque. While much of the valley is spectacular, it in is the section between Castellane and Manosque that the river has carved it’s impressive canyon.

Come for the views, for the bird watching, the hiking trials, for the kayaking/pedal boats, all of which focus around the gorge-ous cold green clear water flowing against the white chalk cliffs.

We were staying at Domaine Monte Verdi and our host Brice recommended Aquattitude watersports, a calmer slice of the gorge with an easy to paddle round trip of about 3 hours total, including a stop for lunch at the designated picnic spots.

Sept 2019 Domaine Monte verde* edited-132.jpg

Interestingly the river’s flow can change direction and strength depending on the dam action that day, so they limit swimming in certain sections.

We pipped for single kayaks, it’s a leisurely paddle, but I was envious of the folks who were clever enough to get a double and let their other half, or children, do all the work!

Pop some champagne and strawberries in the supplied dry tub, pull up a pew next to the water and watch the ducks bee-line for a slice of your cake!