The Verdon Gorge is one of the world’s most beautiful gorges located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region of Southern France and is often described as France’s answer to the Grand Canyon. The Verdon gorge measures about 25 km long and up to 700 metres deep formed by the Verdon River. The turquoise-green colour waters of the canyon is its most distinguishing features where the most beautiful part lies between Castellane and Mounstiers Sainte Marie. The Verdon Gorge is considered by many to be the ost beautiful gorge in Europe and is popular with tourists who drive around its rims or rent kayaks and hike on the limestone walls around the gorge.
The beautiful waters of the Verdon Gorge is the main attraction
Image attribution to Dave Fisher @ Flickr
Aerial view of the gorge
Image attribution to ravpix @ Flickr
Bridge at the Verdon Gorge
Image attribution to anchorage @ Flickr
The Verdon Gorge gateway entrance
Image attribution to Joseph Plotz @ Wiki
History :
The Verdon Gorge was also known as a real natural musuem of primitive man where hundreds of artifacts over 400,000 years old were unearth in the Grotte de la Baume Bonne and a modern Museum of Prehistory was erected near the gorge in 2001. The Verdon Gorge was largely unknown to the outside world until 1906 when speleogist Edoouard Alfred Martel did a complete exploration of the gorges during a 3 day expedition which is known as the Martel trail and still used today between Point Sublime to La Maline
Entrance of the gorge as seen from the Bridge of Galetas
Image attribution to Benh @ Wiki
Rock folds near the gorge
Image attribution to Ballista @ Wiki
The Dam of Sainte Croix
Image attribution to Rikly @ Wiki
Getting there :
The nearest international airport to the Verdon Gorge is the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport which is around a 2 hours drive away from the attraction