VERCORS

INDEPENDENT WALKING HOLIDAYS

Panoramic Vercors

6 or 8 nights - from £925/€1045; walking between guest houses

A magical place where gleaming rock faces meet wild and desolate plateaux. Discover amazing natural wonders on an independent walking holiday in this often overlooked corner of the French Alps. Your traverse will follow this edge from above and below in the most scenic part of the Vercors with amazing panoramic views of the alpine chain. 

Tour of Mont Aiguille

5 nights - From £760/€840, 4 days walking - mix of day walks and walking between guest houses

This self guided walking holiday in the Vercors takes a short tour around the mythical mountain called Mont Aiguille, which provides some of the most cherished views in the Alps. This rock tower is central to a beautiful area in the French Alps made up of deep gorges and canyons, gigantic cliffs several hundred metres high and rocky plateaux. You'll also have the chance to summit the highest peak in the Vercors - Grand Veymont at 2341m.

GUIDED WALKING HOLIDAY

Vercors: A Jewel in the Alps

7 nights - Multi-centre based, day walks, price dependent on number in group

A magical place where gleaming rock faces meet wild and desolate plateaux. Discover amazing natural wonders on a guided walking holiday in this often overlooked corner of the French Alps.

Holiday Details

The Vercors is a magical place where gleaming vertical cliffs meet wild and desolate plateaux. This region forms part of the pre-Alps, a discontinuous chain of limestone peaks that run up the western side of the French Alps.

Vercors Regional Park in France is made up of large valleys, limestone plateaux, deep gorges and gigantic cliffs over 1500 feet high. The main summits are to be found on the eastern fringe of the range where the Grand Veymont reaches 2,341 metres in height. Breath-taking faces span the horizon for miles on end glowing golden hues in the morning and evening sun.

The south-eastern corner of the Vercors, the Trièves, is known affectionately as the French Dolomites and here, perhaps more than anywhere else, you will be left in awe at the stunning landscape. The centre piece of this amazing area is without doubt the Mont Aiguille, an awesome rock tower cast off from the main cliffs. You will never tire from gazing at its vertical flanks, with its dramatic profile changing with each footstep.

In addition the Vercors is home to a host of natural wonders fashioned out of the porous limestone; extraordinary caves, underground glaciers, fantastic waterfalls, rock arches, rock cirques and a natural well 120m deep are just some of the features you will get to experience.

The Vercors climate is at the cross roads of different climatic regimes in France; the west influenced by the Atlantic, the south by the Mediterranean and the east benefiting from the shadow of the mountains. Although it can be wet at times, the climate is consistent with the rest of the Alps in that it experiences a large number of sunny days.
 
The Vercors is haven for a multitude of wildlife with deer, wild boar, hares, chamois, marmots and the famous alpine bouquetin (ibex) roaming the upland slopes. As for the flora, there are 80 protected species represented, including the Sabot de Venus, pictured right, and wild tulips.

In addition, the Vercors has managed to maintain much of its authentic mountain heritage and artisan activities. There are a number of remarkable villages, including Pont-en-Royans in the Bourne Gorge where historic houses perch perilously on rocky outcrops suspended over the river. A 30m bridge spans the gap over the river Bourne to join the two parts of the village, built on two separate outcrops.

The Vercors played an important part in the history of the French Resistance. Many of the villages and mountain passes saw bloody combat and loss of life, and today a number of memorials help to remember the war-time events.

A number of gastronomic specialities are specific to the farming in the Vercors, including the cheese “Bleu de Vercors-Sassenage” produced on 167 farms. Like most alpine regions, cheese (especially the Bleu) often forms an important part of many local dishes. Such a meal is the mouth-watering Beef filet in mushroom and cheese gratin, which is great when washed down with a glass of Claret de Die. A stay in the Vercors will be a gastronomic delight for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Tailor-made Guided walking holiday: Vercors - Jewel in the Alps