Photo : Suzelfe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Gorges de la Vire
The Vire gorges are in the south-west of the Calvados, in the Bocage Virois, around the town of Vire. The river winds there in a deep valley, where granite plateaus alternate with valleys carved in schist. The landscape mixes wooded hills, rock outcrops, meadows and deep valleys.
The Souleuvre, a small neighbouring river, rises near Montchamp and joins the Vire north of Carville and Sainte-Marie-Laumont. Its viaduct is one of the region's landmarks.
The Pays de Vire offers many routes: dozens of hiking, mountain-biking and riding loops, such as the Souleuvre viaduct loop, of about ten kilometres, starting from the Moulin Pinel picnic area at Le Tourneur. A drive of about thirty kilometres also links Sainte-Marie-Outre-l'Eau to Le Bény-Bocage.
