Photo : kallerna / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Parc naturel régional du Verdon
Created to preserve one of the most spectacular landscapes of Provence, the Verdon regional nature park extends over 188,000 hectares straddling the Var and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence départements. It notably includes the Verdon gorges, often nicknamed the Grand Canyon of Europe, where the river has carved over millennia a limestone defile that can exceed 700 metres' depth.
Downstream of the gorges, Lac de Sainte-Croix spreads its turquoise waters at the foot of perched villages like Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, renowned for its handmade faience and its exceptional setting clinging to the cliff. The whole territory, between limestone plateaus, forests and rivers, is also a refuge for rare fauna, including the Egyptian vulture.
The park is discovered as well by the Route des Crêtes, which overlooks the canyon with many laid-out viewpoints, as by hiking, canoeing on Lac de Sainte-Croix or climbing on the canyon walls. Spring and autumn remain the most comfortable seasons to explore this territory exposed to the full Provençal sun.
