Hiking the Verdon Gorges
Europe's Grand Canyon via the Martel and Imbut trails, between 700m cliffs and emerald waters.
Three days descending into the Verdon Grand Canyon, seven hundred metres below the Route des Cretes. The route starts at La Palud-sur-Verdon, the hikers' base, reaches the Point Sublime and the start of the Sentier Martel, a path built in the 1930s by the caver Edouard-Alfred Martel, which strings together unlit tunnels and metal ladders including the Breche Imbert and its two hundred and fifty steps. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie with its star suspended between two cliffs, then Lake Sainte-Croix, close the trip. The Sentier Martel is not a loop: arrange the shuttle between the two ends. Allow six to seven hours, a head torch for the tunnels, two litres of water, and no possibility of turning back halfway.
Practical info
- Stops
- 5
- Duration
- 3 days
- Transport
- 🥾 On foot
- Distance
- ≈ 30 km
- Best time
- Spring and summer
Itinerary
- 1
La Palud-sur-Verdon
Village base pour les randonnees, route des Cretes panoramique.
- 2
Point Sublime
Depart du sentier Martel, vue plongeante sur le corridor Samson.
- 3
Sentier Martel - Brecha Imbert
Passage mythique dans la falaise, tunnels et echelles metalliques.
- 4
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Plus Beau Village de France, etoile d'or suspendue entre deux falaises.
- 5
Lac de Sainte-Croix
Lac turquoise au pied des gorges, pedalos et plages de galets.
