Photo : DimiTalen / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Digue à la mer
The Digue à la Mer is a long earthwork that separates the Camargue ponds from the Mediterranean, between Salin-de-Giraud and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the commune of Arles. Built in 1859 to limit the entry of salt water into the lands of the Rhône delta, it is pierced by sluices (pertuis) that regulate water exchange between sea and ponds. Motor vehicles are forbidden there on the reserve's territory, which makes it a route reserved for walkers and cyclists.
To the east, it runs along part of the salt works of Salin-de-Giraud. Further west, near the La Gacholle lighthouse, which houses an information point of the Camargue National Reserve, the customs path lets you reach the beach through the dunes, often protected by chestnut-paling fences. The area attracts terns, avocets, gulls and little ringed plovers, and shelters dune flora (marram grass, couch grass, spurge, sea daffodil), best discovered early in the morning.
