Gorgeous Gorges

This is a short tour to experience the amazing Gorges du Verdon and surrounding countryside. The Gorges du Verdon lies a couple of hours north-west of Nice and is Europe’s largest and deepest canyon, second in the world only to the Grand Canyon in the US. It is an astonishing natural phenomenon and draws cyclists from all over the world. One minute you are close to the bottom of the gorge looking up at sheer cliffs towering above you, the next you are climbing to stunning vantage points high above the river, looking down at the vivid blue-green water snaking through the gorge.

The entire circuit is 115km long, starting and finishing in Castellane and with a few kms extra tacked on to reach Moustiers for lunch at the western end, but this can be easily shortened by missing out the 20km Route des Cretes loop (the loop includes one of the most challenging climbs of the day too), and where we have van support, it’s possible to ride just one side of the gorge to Moustiers, then take the van back to Castellane.