Verdon Gorge

Level 2 to 3. Daily stages average 6 hours and may involve ascents of approximately 600m to 800m and/or distances of 15km.
Some sections may be at altitude.
Your profile: you regularly walk on hiking trails and exercise regularly.

You carry only what you need for the day, along with your picnic lunch and safety equipment. The rest of your belongings will be transported by vehicle.

Transfers are by minibus driven by the guide, as well as by taxi. Short transfers of less than 10 minutes will be made in two trips if the group has more than 8 people.

Guiding

State-qualified mountain walking guide.

Accommodation

Accommodation in shared rooms in hiking lodges.

Day 1 in Trigance: rooms with 4 to 6 bunk beds, with allocated bathroom facilities
Days 2 and 3 in Rougon: rooms with 4 to 8 bunk beds, with allocated bathroom facilities
Days 4 and 5 at La Maline: rooms with 4 to 6 bunk beds, with allocated or shared bathroom facilities

Meals

Dinner and breakfast are served at the accommodation. Your guide prepares picnic lunches. We also provide a bag of trail snacks at the start of the trip (dried fruit, biscuits, energy bars, etc.).

5 to 14 participants.

Guide gratuities are optional and at your discretion. To reward outstanding service, a suggested guideline is 5–10% of the total trip cost. Local currency is preferred.

6 days / 5 nights / 6 days of hiking.

Trips run from Sunday to Friday. Departures from May to October.

Meeting point / End of trip

Meeting point

On Day 1 at 9am in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.

If you have booked the optional TGV package, meet at your hotel in Manosque. Your guide will confirm the meeting time by phone (approximately 7:45). You must be dressed for hiking, with your daypack, ready to set off directly on the walk.

End of trip

On Day 6 at around 5pm in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.

If you choose the train package:
End of trip: on the last day at Manosque railway station at around 6pm.

By train

You can travel by rail to the region, then continue by local coach or taxi to the meeting point. Check train times on SNCF Connect and confirm the onward transfer before booking: local services and connections can change.

Train package

If you arrive by train at Manosque railway station the day before the trip, make things simple with our package (price per person), which includes:

• An extra night with breakfast the night before the trip starts, in a comfortable hotel near Manosque railway station.

• Transfers from and to Manosque on Days 1 and 6.

By car

Plan your route on www.viamichelin.fr.

• From Grenoble: Sisteron / Digne via the RD 1075 / A51 / N85, then Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

• From Marseille: Peyruis / Digne via the A51 / N85, then Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.

In Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, the meeting point is at the Maïre car park, on the left after a bridge, shortly after passing Camping St Jean when coming from Manosque. You can identify the car park by the recycling bins beside the main road connecting Manosque to Rougon.

A number of our trips offer opportunities for swimming, either during the day’s route or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. Please bear in mind, however, that your guides are not lifeguards; you therefore swim under your own responsibility and at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips – on foot, by bike and on snow – to encourage everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As members of the board of directors since 2018, we actively help the sector adopt more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we focus on:

• Transparency in our practices and prices
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every trip

We also encourage every traveller to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and enjoy meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has held Travelife Partner status, an international label that certifies our responsible environmental, ethical and sustainable management practices, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a rigorous international certification scheme, recognises our practical actions in support of responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in accordance with our sustainability policy

In this section, you will find links to products from our partner Alpinstore, a French online retailer specialising in outdoor equipment, based in Annecy.

For carrying your belongings

• A comfortable 30 to 50 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One bag per person, with a maximum weight of 15 kg

Read our magazine article on how to pack your hiking backpack.

For hiking

For maximum comfort, choose a layered clothing system: warm base layers (leggings and a top) such as “Carline” or “Capilene” (hollow fibres that wick away perspiration), plus a sweatshirt or fleece jacket, plus a mountain jacket and overtrousers with a waterproof, breathable membrane (such as Gore-Tex or equivalent) for bad weather. As a general rule, except in hot climates and countries, avoid cotton, which holds moisture close to the body and takes a long time to dry, and choose suitable synthetic fabrics instead.

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a good deeply treaded sole, a supportive heel counter and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Comfortable shorts in technical fabric
• Technical T-shirts or base layers (quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt
• Walking poles (telescopic), very important for making walking easier. Discover all the benefits of hiking poles in our dedicated article or how to choose your hiking poles

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of resisting sweat odours!

For your lunchtime picnic

• Your “kitchen” kit: a plastic bowl, container or plate, and cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• 1 or 2 water bottles (a total capacity of at least 1,5 L) – compulsory –; an insulated flask for winter
• In hot weather, bring several water bottles or a hydration bladder so that you have 2,5 to 3 litres of water per person.

Protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection)
• Sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a waterproof jacket such as a softshell or Gore-Tex jacket, and possibly waterproof trousers

After your walk

• A pair of trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A toiletry bag and a small towel
• A sleeping bag liner (blankets are provided).
• Swimwear and a towel for wellness facilities (where specified) or swimming
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, surgical masks, hand sanitiser, plasters, sterile dressings and a bandage, gauze, disinfectant, arnica granules and aspirin, etc. (please note that this list is not exhaustive and should be adapted to your own medical needs).

Find these tips in our article #"what to take on a hike".

This list is for guidance and should be adapted to your trip and the season in which you are travelling.

Moustiers Ste Marie Tourist Office
Tel: 04.92.74.67.84
www.moustiers.eu
Castellane Tourist Office
Tel: 04.92.83.61.14
www.castellane.org

• Didier Richard maps at a scale of 1/50.000, “les tracés grand air” collection, no. 19 Haute Provence / Verdon
• IGN TOP 25 map, Verdon 3442 OT
• IGN TOP253542OT - Castellane
• IGN TOP253443OT - Gorges du Verdon

• Éditions Didier Richard, “New Territory Routes”: in the heart of the Verdon, the grand canyon
• The Knights Templar, Georges Bordonove, éditions Marabout, History series
• “Wonderful Verdon”, éditions les créations du Verdon
• “The Shepherd of the Bees”, Marcel Scipion
• IGN Ubaye Verdon Guide
• Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Gallimard, 2008

The Verdon

Although most trails are now accessible to any hiker, exploring the Verdon Gorge on foot has not always been so easy. In the early 20th century, cave explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel and his companions risked their lives descending from Rougon to the Samson corridor. Today, the Martel trail is one of the most beautiful routes offering panoramic views of the gorge. Sometimes high on the cliffs, with sheer drops of up to 400m, sometimes beside the water, it starts at Point Sublime and reaches the Chalet de la Maline after a few hours of stunning walking, passing rock shelters with evocative animal names. Through forests or across high plateaus, the hiking trails around the Verdon Gorge offer plenty of memorable moments: an encounter with a chamois or griffon vultures, a crossing of wild expanses where only a few ruins recall the area’s former pastoral activity… Lake Sainte-Croix, created by dams across the Verdon, brightens the walk with its turquoise waters: feel free to take a swim, as motorboats are banned on the lake!

Geography

From its source at the Col d’Allos to its confluence with the Durance, the Verdon flows for 175km. Between Castellane and Lake Sainte-Croix, it changes character, becoming the Grand Canyon du Verdon. Its limestone walls form ramparts reaching up to 700m. Around the gorge lie rocky plateaus with low-growing vegetation and a landscape of mid-altitude mountains shaped by folds in the rock. La Palud-sur-Verdon nestles against one of these folds. Part of the Verdon Gorge marks the boundary between the departments of Var and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

Food and drink

The cuisine around the Verdon brings together all the flavours of Provence, with a particular emphasis on truffles, still harvested in Les Salles-sur-Verdon (with the help of a dog rather than a sow these days!), and snails. Lambs roam the plateaus, as do goats, whose milk is used to make delicious cheese, often flavoured with herbs.

Climate

The Verdon enjoys a Mediterranean climate tempered by altitude, with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures during summer. Swimming in the Verdon or Lake Sainte-Croix is a delight. At higher elevations, nights are relatively cool. Thunderstorms and rain can be intense, and in winter a thin layer of snow covers the peaks.