VERCORS ❘ ACTIVE FRANCE
aDvEnTuReS I
VERCORS
From peaks and plateaux to forests and gorges, the Vercors is a summer haven full of
adrenaline-rush activities fi nds Elinor Sheridan
n 1930 there were 50 children’s homes in the villages of the Vercors, all promoting a healthy lifestyle of ‘une cure de lait, l’air et de soleil’. A place to rest and recover in nature, the exceptional landscape of the Vercors Regional Natural Park is certainly the ideal spot to recharge, but it’s also a land of adventure, a playground in the Prealps if you will.
CALL OF THE WILD We set off at daybreak on the GR91 Traversée du Vercors hiking trail at Corrençon-en-Vercors. Local guide Gaël Ferrari leads us into the wild heart of the Vercors, where there are no houses or roads. Covering 17,000 hectares of land, the Hauts Plateaux Nature Reserve is the largest land-based reserve in France, and has more than 1,000 species of fl ora, some of which we spot, such as gentian and Edelweiss that poke out from limestone fi ssures. It is also home to marmots, ibex, the black grouse, golden eagles and bearded vultures.
Clockwise from main: Les Trois Pucelles is a
breathtaking spot for via corda; relax with some yoga in the great outdoors; electric bikes are a great way to see the park; having a go with the roller skis; the Vercors is a hiker’s paradise
As we follow Gaël along one of 200 routes that crisscross the reserve, we come across lapiés, where pure limestone has eroded over time to leave mesmerising grooves in its surface. Further along the trail we pass a memorial to Second World War French Resistance fi ghters, who had hoped to capitalise strategically on the Vercors landscape, which they saw as a natural citadel protected by cliffs that served as ramparts. Here we spot the 45th parallel line plaque informing us we are standing midway between the Equator and the North Pole, as well as on the same latitude as the oldest national park in the world, Yellowstone. We stop for herbal tea provided by Gaël at the Cabane de Carrette, a refuge hut, and from here we diverge from the Grand Randonnée and head east towards Le Grand Pot. This is where our trust in Gaël is tested, as we arrive at a basin bordered to the other side by an imposing mountain ridge… Or so we’re told, as a mer de nuages (sea of clouds) has concealed it. He points east regardless, and promises us there are cols and rochers hiding somewhere over there. We head back along the Sentier du Ranc de ❯❯
Aug/Sep 2022 FRANCE TODAY ❘ 87
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