• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Join us on

Ultimate France

A Thrill-Seekers Guide

MENUMENU
  • Bike
    • Mountain Biking South France
      • Auron-Saint Etienne
      • Le Dévoluy
      • Diois
      • Isola 2000
      • La Moulière
      • Les Orres
      • Montgenèvre
      • Orcières
      • Pra Loup
      • Queyras
      • Riviera Borderlands
      • Roubion
      • Serre Chevalier
      • Sospel
      • Ubaye Valley
      • Valberg
      • Val d'Allos
      • Vars
      • Verdon
    • Mountain Biking French Alps
      • Portes du Soleil
        • Avoriaz
        • Châtel
        • Les Gets
        • Morzine
      • Alpe d'Huez
      • Chamonix
        • Tour du Mont Blanc
      • Courchevel
      • Les Arcs
      • La Clusaz
      • Les Deux Alpes
      • Méribel
      • Sainte-Foy
      • Tignes
      • Val d’Isère
      • Valloire
    • Mountain Biking French Pyrenees
      • Cauterets
      • Luchon
      • Saint Lary
      • Mountain Biking Basque Country
      • Mountain Biking Northern Italy
      • Finale Ligure
    • Cycling Holidays
      • Mountain Bike Hire
      • Cycle Shops & Repairs
      • Airport Transfers
      • Campervan Hire
      • Road Cycling
      • French Alps
      • South of France
      • Cycling Holidays
    • Bike Directory

      • Finale Ligure Freeride - MTB Uplifts & Guiding
      • Whiterides - Private Airport Transfers to the Espace Killy, Paradiski and 3 Valleys
      • France Bike Trips - Mountain Bike & Road Cycling Tours
      • Natureo Surf Camp - Seignosse
      • RIDE ON NOLI - MTB Uplifts & Guiding
      • Bike Alp - MTB Holidays in the Southern French Alps
  • Surf
    • South West France
      • Anglet
      • Arcachon-La Salie
      • Biarritz
      • Bidart
      • Biscarrosse
      • Capbreton
      • Guéthary
      • Hendaye
      • Hossegor
      • Lacanau
      • Messanges
      • Mimizan Plage
      • Moliets Plage
      • Saint-Jean-de-Luz
      • Seignosse
      • Vieux Boucau
    • Brittany
    • Surf Holidays
      • Surf Camps
      • Campsites
      • Surf Shuttles
      • Campervan Rental
      • Basque Country Beaches
      • Surf Webcams
    • Surf Events
      • Quiksilver Pro France
      • World Surfing Games
  • Kite
    • Kitesurf Spot Guide
      • Almanarre, Hyères
      • Beauduc, Camargue
      • Cap d’Agde
      • Carro
      • Espiguette, Camargue
      • La Ciotat
      • Lac de Serre-Ponçon
      • Le Jaï-Etang de Berre
      • Leucate-La Franqui
      • Saint-Laurent-du-Var
      • Sète-Etang de Thau
    • Kitesurfing Holidays
      • Campervan Rental
      • Campsites
        • Almanarre
        • Leucate
      • Kitesurf Schools
        • Almanarre
        • Cannes
        • Hyères
        • Leucate
        • Montpellier
        • Sète
  • Snow
    • Resort Guides
      • Les 3 Vallées
        • Courchevel
        • La Tania
        • Les Menuires
        • Méribel
        • Val Thorens
      • Alpe d'Huez
      • Arêches-Beaufort
      • Avoriaz
      • Bourg-Saint-Maurice
      • Chamonix
      • Châtel
      • Isola 2000
      • La Clusaz
    • Resort Guides cont.
      • La Grave
      • La Plagne
      • La Rosière
      • Les 2 Alpes
      • Les Arcs
      • Les Gets
      • Les Houches
      • Megève
      • Morzine
      • Sainte-Foy
      • Serre Chevalier
      • Tignes
      • Val d’Isère
    • Backcountry
      • Off-Piste Skiing
        • Tignes
        • Val d'Isère
        • Les 3 Vallées
        • Vallée Blanche
      • Ski Touring
        • Les 3 Vallées
      • Heli-Skiing & Boarding
      • Extreme Steep Skiing
      • Snowshoeing
        • French Alps
    • Ski Holidays
      • Airport Transfers
      • Chalet Accommodation
      • Ski & Snowboard Lessons
        • 100% Snowboard
      • Ski & Snowboard Holidays
      • Ski & Snowboard Rental
      • Off-Piste Guiding
      • Last Minute Deals
    • Webcams
      • Alpe d'Huez
      • Val d'Isère
  • Adventure
    • Canyoning
      • South of France
        • Gorges du Verdon
      • French Alps
        • Vercors
      • Canyoning Guides
      • Aqua Trekking Guides
    • Hiking
      • South of France
        • Gorges du Verdon
      • French Alps
        • Tour des Ecrins
        • Tour du Mont Blanc – A Classic Long-Distance Walk in the Alps
        • Mont Blanc Ascent
      • Hiking Guides
    • Paragliding
      • South of France
        • Saint-André-les-Alpes
      • French Alps
      • Paragliding Schools
      • Tandem Flights
    • Rafting
      • The Ubaye
      • The Verdon
      • Rafting Companies
      • Tandem Kayaking
    • Rock Climbing
      • Gorges du Verdon
      • Climbing Guides
      • Mountaineering
      • Mont Blanc
      • Mountaineering Guides
    • Via Ferrata
      • South of France
      • French Alps
      • Via Ferrata Guides
  • Active Holidays
    • South of France
      • Aix-en-Provence
      • Ardèche
      • Avignon
      • Briançon
      • Cannes
      • Cévennes NP
      • Dordogne
      • Ecrins NP
      • Gorges du Tarn
      • Gorges du Verdon
      • The Luberon
      • Massif de l'Esterel
      • Mercantour NP
      • Mont Ventoux
      • Nice
      • Ubaye Valley
    • French Alps
      • Bourg-Saint-Maurice
      • Chamonix
      • The Vercors
      • Mountain Bike Parks
      • Ski Resorts
      • Last Minute Ski Deals
      • Ski & Snowboard Lessons
      • Airport Transfers
      • Chalet Accommodation
      • Webcams
    • Atlantic Coast
      • Arcachon
      • Biarritz
      • Biscarrosse
      • Bordeaux
      • Capbreton
      • Cap Ferret
      • Hossegor
      • Île d'Oléron
      • Île de Ré
      • Lacanau
      • La Rochelle
      • Royan
      • Saint-Jean-de-Luz
    • Featured Accommodation

      • Seignosse Surf Villa
      • Christiania Hotel - Valloire
      • Camping International Giens, Campsite - Almanarre
      • Camping Huttopia Gorges du Verdon
      • Chalet du Mont d'Arbois - Megeve
      • Camping La Ferme de Castellane
      • Camping Huttopia Lanmary - Dordogne
  • Events
    • Mountain Biking
      • Raid VTT
      • Terres Noires Enduro
      • CRANKWORX – Les Gets
      • Megavalanche
      • Pass'Portes du Soleil
      • MTB Instructor Course
      • Roc d'Azur
    • Outdoor Sports
      • Spadtribu - Ubaye Valley
      • Natural Games
    • Skiing & Boarding
      • La Grave Off-Piste Adventure
      • Snow & Rock Backcountry Skiing
      • Val d'Isère Photo Comp
  • Gear
    • Waterproof Cycling Jackets
    • Expedition Duffel Bags
    • Backpacks under 30l
    • Mountain Bike Helmets
    • Snowboard Boots
    • Snowboard Helmets
    • Base Layers
    • Waterproof Jackets
    • Shimano CM-1000
    • Lapierre X-Control
    • Soft Roof Racks
    • Wetsuit Buying Guide – Everything you need to know to choose the right wetsuit
  • Magazine
You are here: Home / Canyoning France / Canyoning in the South of France / Canyoning in the Gorges du Verdon

Canyoning in the Gorges du Verdon

Canyoning in the Gorges du Verdon

Canyoning descents in the Verdon Grand Canyon

The Gorges du Verdon in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a huge draw for canyoning enthusiasts wanting to escape the crowds of the Côte d’Azur and enjoy the spectacular scenery and meandering turquoise waters of this vast wilderness.

You’d need a decade to fully explore all the possibilities for adventure in the Gorges du Verdon, and canyoning enthusiasts are spoilt for choice with descents for all abilities. Jump, slide, swim and abseil your way from one crystal clear emerald pool to the next.


Book a Canyoning Trip in the Gorges du Verdon

Our canyoning partners offer full-day and half-day canyoning adventures and cater to all abilities and group sizes. Canyoning adventures are staged in magnificent mountain terrain in remote locations. Take a guide, you’ll be safer and you’ll have a lot more fun.

YETI Rafting - logo
Yéti Rafting - Rafting & Canyoning in the Gorges du Verdon
36 rue Nationale, 04120 Castellane, France
+33 (0)6 13 07 46 02+33 (0)6 13 07 46 02
SEND EMAIL
VISIT WEBSITE
Couleur Canyon - logo
Couleur Canyon - Canyoning, Rock Climbing & Via Ferrata in Verdon
31 Rue nationale, 04120 Castellane, France
+33 (0)6 08 14 93 91+33 (0)6 08 14 93 91
SEND EMAIL
VISIT WEBSITE
Raft Session - logo
Raft Session - Rafting & Canyoning in the Gorges du Verdon
12 rue Nationale, 04120 Castellane, France
+33 (0)6 20 12 92 01+33 (0)6 20 12 92 01
SEND EMAIL
VISIT WEBSITE
Showing 3 results

Verdon Grand Canyon Aqua Trekking

Setting up for a traverse of the Verdon Grand Canyon
Setting up for a traverse of the Verdon Grand Canyon | © Ride The Verdon

Canyoning through the Verdon Grand Canyon is a great way to discover one of the most spectacular parts of the Gorges du Verdon. This is a full day’s adventure and the backdrop of awe-inspiring scenery and feeling of isolation gives this trip the sense of a real expedition. The descent doesn’t require ropes, so is described as a rando aquatique, or whitewater trek.

The canyoning descent begins with a hike down 400 m of vertical drop on the Imbut Trail. Once at the river, you’ll alternate between swimming the rapids, trekking, and jumping. All the jumps are optional, and there are jumps of up to 12 m for the most daring in your group. The full descent takes 6 hours including the hike down, 3 hours in the water, a pause for lunch, and the killer 400 m climb back out of the canyon.

To enjoy the descent, you need a good level of fitness and a head for heights. The long day and isolation means it’s only suitable for kids over 14. Bring old trainers, swimmers, a picnic and plenty of drinking water. For this canyon, it’s best to go with a qualified guide. Ride the Verdon run trips throughout the summer and limit the group size to 8. Meet at Falaise des Cavaliers, RD 71, 83630 Aiguines.


Artuby Canyoning

The Artuby is a formidable canyon with breathtaking scenery located on the left bank of the Verdon River, about an hour’s drive from La Palud. Park near the impressive bridge that spans the Gorges de l’Artuby and follow the sound of whitewater. On the weekends you can bungee jump from the bridge.

The high and imposing canyon walls are positively cathedral-like. You can descend the Artuby when dry (zero flow) or with a decent flow, each condition providing a completely different experience. When the water’s flowing, you swim through frigid water that can be brown in colour. The combination of the cold brown water and sheer scale of the canyon can make it a bit daunting if it’s your first time canyoning.

When it’s at zero flow, you spend a lot more time hiking and down-climbing than swimming and jumping. The end of the descent is fed from additional sources and has more water, and the water regains its sparkling turquoise colour.

The Artuby is a long canyon, so save some energy for the scramble back up. Bring some energy bars and plenty of water, and get informed about the weather as a storm to the north-east can quickly flood the canyon.


Couloir Samson Canyoning

Canyoning the Couloir Samson in the Gorges du Verdon
Canyoning the Couloir Samson in the Gorges du Verdon | © Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

This is a fun and easy canyon accessible to everyone including kids from 7 years old. The narrowness and height of the canyon give the Couloir Samson a grandiose atmosphere that can make you feel very small. The descent is described as a randonnée aquatique, or whitewater trek, rather than a canyoning descent as it doesn’t involve any rope work.

It’s one of the shorter descents as well and can easily be completed in 2 to 2.5 hours. Be aware though that although it is an easy canyon, there are some fast flowing sections that could be hazardous. For daredevils, there are some optional jumps up to 8 m, and to spice things up, you could rig up a zipline just before the Baume aux Pigeons cave.

This descent is very popular with canyoning companies and from the 15 July to the 15 August there’s a new group coming through almost every 20 minutes. The ideal flow of 1.5 m3 per second is controlled by the dam upstream. On Tuesdays and Fridays, dam-released flow means the river is reserved for rafting and kayaking.

To access the Couloir Samson from Castellane, take La Route des Pré-Gorges (d953), and after the village of La Palud and before the tunnel, park in the Martel trail car park. Go down the steps and turn right onto the trail towards the river. Get changed on the little beach before the trail enters a tunnel. The end of the descent is marked by boulders (and sunbathers) on river right. Hike back to the car park on the Martel Trail.


Baudan Baou Canyoning

Baudan Baou Canyoning, Gorges du Verdon
A nice jump in the Baudan Baou in the Gorges du Verdon | © Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

When the Baudan Baou was first descended commercially the canyon was run in its entirety. It involved a lot of walking and mostly just a trickle of frigid water. Then a canny canyoner, found a short cut that enabled just the best of the Baou to be included in the descent.

The canyon is nearly always dry with a few overhanging rocks and slippery slabs that require up to a 17 m abseil. Despite its mostly easygoing nature, the Baou is always very cold and susceptible to flash flooding, so you need to pay attention to the weather conditions. There are some optional jumps for gravity seekers.


Haut Jabron Canyoning

The Haut Jabron is a short descent by Gorges du Verdon standards, but being a tributary of the Verdon, if you did follow the canyon to the end, it would eventually spit you out in the main river. It’s a beautiful canyon with some curvaceous limestone formations. There’s always some flow in the Jabron even in the height of summer.

Thrill-seekers will love the natural water slides and rock jumps. However, you’ll need a volunteer to abseil down and check any landing pools for obstructions, as it’s not uncommon for tree branches to get dangerously lodged. They’ll need a 15 m rope. When there’s less flow in the canyon, the water takes on that notorious emerald green colour and positively sparkles in places.

As the descent only takes three quarters of an hour, there’s a tradition that says you should run it a second time. And, because this time you know it, you can really go for those jumps.


This is box title

When to go

As formidable as it is spectacular, the Gorges du Verdon stretches for 40 km and the precipitous canyon walls reach 300 m skyward from the river. Canyoning season typically runs from May to September, with mid-July to mid-August being peak time for the holiday crowd. There are those fantastic days when everything is doable, and days when the canyons are either dry or swollen with whitewater. It’s best to go with a qualified guide, but if you do decide to go it alone, it’s a good idea to check in with local guides on the current conditions, or try to recce the start or end of a canyon to make an assessment about water levels and whether the route is doable.

In May, the Artuby canyon may be running too high, whilst the Haut Jabron canyon may either be very challenging or running perfectly. In July and August, the Haut Jabron becomes a very accessible and easy canyon with a consistent flow, making it an ideal descent for mixed-ability groups. Each canyon has it’s own unique characteristics as it may be fed from sources many miles away.

Where to go

There are more than 15 canyons in and around the Gorges du Verdon. Some, like the Artuby canyon flank the Verdon gorge itself. Others like the Baudan Baou canyon take a bit more effort to get to. The Couloir Samson is a display of nature at its most sublime and is labelled a “rando-aquatique” as it doesn’t involve any rope work.

Logistics for some canyons are more straightforward than for others. The Baudan Baou requires two vehicles, but during the summer holiday season you can usually hitchhike back to the start with one of the many guides who regularly make the trip. Artuby, Samson and Haut Jabron each have a hiking trail that brings you back to the start.

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t attempt a canyon unless you have the proper equipment, especially a canyoning wetsuit. In fact, from an equipment, logistics and safety point of view, you’re much better off organising a guide.

Access

Most of the canyons around the Gorges du Verdon can be accessed from Castellane, La Palud-sur-Verdon, or from the left bank of the Verdon river in the Var. As a crow flies, the whole canyoning area is pretty localised and travelling between the different sites provides great views of the Verdon scenery.

Castellane is located just under 2 hours driving time from Nice on the Route Napoléon. La Palud is a lovely village and has become a base-camp for adventure seekers whether climbers, walkers or river runners. The village is situated about half way between Castellane and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie which is considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Primary Sidebar

Verdon Campsites

Camping Huttopia in the Gorges du Verdon

Verdon Canyoning Companies

Book a canyoning trip in the Gorges du Verdon with Feel Rafting
Canyoning, Rock Climbing and Via Ferrata in Verdon, France with the Bureau des Guides de Canyon
Couleur Canyon - Canyoning, Rock Climbing and Via Ferrata in the Gorges du Verdon
Book Verdon Accommodation

Footer

Ultimate France

About us
Contact us
Advertise
Events
Gear
Magazine
Webcams

For Business Owners

Add your business
Rejoindre l'annuaire

Assoc. Atout France

Top Mountain Bike Resorts

Portes du Soleil
Morzine
Les Gets
Avoriaz
Châtel
La Clusaz
Chamonix
Tignes
Les Arcs
Les 2 Alpes
Alpe d’Huez
Valloire
Val d’Allos
Pra Loup
Roubion
Les Orres
Montgenèvre

Directory

Airport Transfers
Campervan Hire
Canyoning
Cycle Hire
Cycle Shops & Repairs
Hiking
Kitesurf Schools
Mountain Bike Holidays
Rafting & Kayaking
Ski & Snowboard Hire
Snowshoeing
Via Ferrata

Secure Payments

Secure Payments with Stripe and PayPal

Copyright © 2022 Hang Ten Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved | CRN: 12758831 | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions