Gene & Mohini In France: Tour of Gorges du Verdon

The Gorges du Verdon, also called the Grand Canyon du Verdon, about 80km northwest of Grasse, is a spectacular canyon that forms a border between the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and the Var. Up to 700 m deep, the 21-km-long canyon varies in width between 6 and 100 m at the bottom and 200 to 1500 m at its rim.

Although much smaller than Arizona's Grand Canyon, the Gorges du Verdon is deep, compact, wild and beautiful. From Castellane to the village of Rougon, the Verdon river flows clear and swift, and the road follows along the banks. At Rougon, by the Point Sublime, the river plunges into the narrow rock walls and comes out the western end before flowing into Lac de Ste Croix.

We drove from Grasse on Route Napoleon thru the villages of Seranon, Bargeme, Comps-sur-Artuby along the southern rim of the canyon to Aiguines. From here we drove south, saw the village of Bauduen across the lake and then onto Baudinard, where we saw lavender fields for the first time. Drove around the end of the Lac De Ste Croix to Riez and north side of the Lake It had been a long day and we made our way home and saw the moon coming up over Grasse. to Moustier St. Marie, a very picturesque village with a church built up in the gorge. Then we drove around the North Rim of the gorge to Point Sublime, onto Castellane, reaching here just before dark but did see Notre Dame du Roc, built on a granite cliff 1000ft up.

Driving along the gorges is like living life on the edge – at an elevation, never ending narrow winding roads, deep gorges, bridges and tunnels, sometimes you do not want to look down, but it has the most spectacular views, beautiful in its own unique way.