My friend Rafaela and I left Nice around 6:00 AM, drove most of the way in the dark, and the rest of the way in thick fog. When we got there, the fog was starting to lift out of the canyon, which was a pretty amazing site. It looked like a river of clouds. We left the car at Point Sublime and took a cab the the starting point at the Chalet de la Maline. By the time we got started, the sun was out and there were hardly any clouds the whole day. After about 7 hours of not-too-strenuous hiking we made it to the end and went to the nearby town of Castellane for dinner. Enjoy the links and photos!
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Fog lifting from the canyon in the morning. These were taken near the eastern end of the canyon around Point Sublime. || || \/ |
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Starting the hike at the Chalet de la Maline |
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The canyon to the west... |
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...and to the east |
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The Verdon river at the base of the canyon |
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It's very green due to dissolved limestone, almost like the river in Havasu Canyon, Arizona |
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Neat point near a sharp bend in the river || || \/ |
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Near the bend in the river, the river heads north and the trail goes up and over a cliff rather than along the river. Here's a view towards the north from a lookout point at the top of the cliff. |
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Very steep metal stairs (~240 total) that head back down towards the river |
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More views up the canyon towards the north || || \/ |
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Neat folds in the rock |
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Neat rock finger |
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We eventually made it out of the gorge safely under our own power, unlike the 5 climbers here who had to be rescued by helicopter. The 2 climbers above and to the left of the helicopter were fine. I was amazed at how close the helicopter got to the side of the gorge. |
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This boulder is precariously placed above what would otherwise be a nice swimming hole |
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The entrance to one of the 2 tunnels we had to pass through |
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Lots of shots of the river || || \/ |
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Warning: Killer waves can attack at any time! |
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This sign has one of the worst translations to English that I've ever seen. Rafaela confirmed that the German is equally bad. |
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Our last good view of the river as we hike back to the car park |
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The eastern end of the canyon |
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Neat rocks on the way out |
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View of the canyon from the car park |
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Church up on a cliff in Castellane, near where we had dinner. They certainly didn't make it convenient for people to attend mass. |
