3 days of roaming around the Cèze valley

92km and 3300m D+

Three days of roaming in the south of France between Ardèche and Gard around the Cèze valley, three days of adventure, discovering a still wild nature and a demanding trail-hiking route.

There are several possible starting points: Les Vans, Saint Paul Le Jeune or Bessèges. You can follow the 57 km Cèze Valley tour route or, as we did, create your own route by integrating only part of the Cèze Valley tour and adding a route between Saint Paul Le Jeune, Banne and Les Vans before reaching the Cèze Valley via Malbosc.

Why go on a multi-day tour in this region?

If we recommend going on a multi-day trek in this region, it is for its great beauty with its wild rivers, its panoramic views and the opportunity to immerse yourself in an omnipresent and very varied nature.

Wild Rivers

No need to go far to find wild river landscapes. During three days of roaming on the border between Ardèche and Gard, you will have the chance to discover not only the Céze but also the Luech, a tributary of the Cèze or the Homol. Part of our trail-hike took place above the Luech. We walked for several kilometers just above the river which follows a winding and very steep valley. By slightly overlooking the river, we were able to have very beautiful views of the river and the small valley that surrounds it, both in a U shape. The bridges that cross the river are old stone bridges in the shape of an arch almost at river level. As you follow the Luech before arriving at Chambon, you can also discover on your right an unusual series of very old steps straight into the slope. A rather difficult passage and to negotiate with caution almost on all fours with the backpack to ensure to keep one's balance. These steps had been built a long time ago to allow workers to go to work on a site difficult to reach. Beyond the Luech, there is also of course the Cèze and the Homol, two other rivers to discover while passing from one valley to another.

Note a particularity of these valleys of the south of Ardèche and Gard: the southern slopes are very steep while the northern slopes have a much less pronounced slope. This marked difference in slope is due to the precipitations coming from the south which are often more violent and give rise to intense episodes of ravines. So prepare yourself on the southern slopes for demanding passages with very steep climbs on paths filled with stones and pebbles which make support difficult and a little hazardous.

The panoramic views

In this beautiful region on the border between Ardèche and Gard, the mountain ridges or greenhouses as they are locally called are very close to each other. The valleys follow one another with often wild rivers at the bottom of each of them. On the mountain ridges there are often superb panoramic views. Some of them even offer 360 degree views. In some places and on a clear day, you can even and with a bit of luck catch a glimpse of Mont Ventoux which remains very imposing at more than 1900 meters above sea level while it is almost a hundred kilometers away as the crow flies.

At one of the highest points of our trail-hike after passing near the Col du Peras above the village of Aujac, we reached a small stony summit by scrambling for a few dozen meters to reach it. From this highest point, we saw a magnificent succession of about ten mountain ridges, positioned in a row one after the other up to Mount Aigoual further south which peaks at more than 1500 meters above sea level further south.

A varied and omnipresent nature

A trail hike in this region is also the assurance of immersing yourself in a varied and omnipresent nature. In the same day, it is possible to pass through very diverse forests: large maritime pine forests, deciduous forests or even a landscape reminiscent of scrubland with small shrubs as on the Paiolive plateau with in addition in the middle of this plateau a pretty little canyon where frogs have a great time.

Why maritime pines in Ardèche when the sea is still more than 100 kilometers to the south after Montpellier?

In fact, in the nineteenth century, the region was mainly known for its coal mines and miners introduced maritime pine to make props in the mines. Maritime pine then spread to the forests of southern Ardèche, although the mines have since closed one after the other.

In these forests, if you leave early enough, you may also be lucky enough to see deer or wild boars. On the third day, we were able to glimpse several wild boars early in the morning in the middle of the forest, only about ten meters away, but when they heard us, they quickly fled into the ferns. Some passages in the forest are clearly their kingdom. They also make the trail almost impassable in places by ploughing it up and down and in depth. We also heard a deer barking when we woke up one morning. You read that right: the deer barks, a sort of very short cry comparable in fact to a bark.

In short, a trail-hike in southern Ardèche is an opportunity to immerse yourself in an omnipresent nature, rich and beautiful in its flora and fauna. A deep breath and a demanding adventure with valley climbs on very steep slopes.

Three days of roaming in southern Ardèche around the Cèze valley, it's really a beautiful little adventure, the assurance of a total change of scenery and an immersion in a superb region, with wild rivers, splendid forests, hamlets perched on the mountainside and ridge lines with impressive panoramic views.

An absolute must-see during a long weekend.