Gorges de Daluis - France

Yes, this is indeed still in europe and part of the alps. A real stereotypical red-rock canyon!

4y ago
3.3K

When I first heard about this place and road, I could hardly believe my eyes. Such a landscape shall exist in the european alps? A landscape strongly reminding you of deserts and the mother of all canyons in america. Although still with a lot more patches of green on the rocks. We are actually not far from the Verdon Gorge and also close to the coast in the maritime alps of southern france. Once you take a look at a satellite-image the area now immediatly strikes your eye as it is the only red-ish spot in the whole area.

There you find two rivers crossing this landscape, forming two very beautiful canyons and both acompanied by a road. But while the eastern road is close to the river and not as interesting to drive as the contender here, despite the beautiful surroundings. It is the western road that really catches your attention. This road hangs high above the river Var sneaking through the Gorge de Daluis.

And oh my what a road this is, nothing like i've ever seen before or since. You get the feeling, that it really wanted to avoid cutting through rock and create tunnels, but it still has countless of them, wherever it is absolutely neccesary. At many points the lanes are also splitting in two, with one snuggly following the cliff-edge and the other lane shortcutting through a tunnel, because the cliff only allowed space for a single lane. Therefor I strongly recommend going north rather than south for the best experience! This is the way, where you will always follow the cliff rather than shortcutting the narrow edges.

These edges are also the best parts of the road, as it feels intense thrashing through them. And you can go relatively fast here, as you don't need to fear headcrashing a truck behind every bend, as on so many other mountain passes. After all it is just one lane, so there is no oncoming traffic coming your way on these bits. And it wouldn't fit anyway, as the road gets really narrow there. Also a word of attention for anyone claustrophobic: You will have to pass through some single-lane tunnels, where you could hardly open a door of your car. But these especially are great fun powering through under full throttle, as they create the perfect soundscape for whatever you're driving.

With hardly 7km of road inside the red stuff this is a rather short entry and might even be the shortest road on TSR until Atlanterhavsveien. But the experience does feel longer per km compared to others. A lot of the corners can hardly be taken safely at 50-60 kmh, so the pass feels longer than it actually is, with no breaks of thrill whatsoever. From the moment you enter the canyon to the entrance of the next village the road is in full-thrill-mode and requires all your attention.

Therefor I do recommend what I have done: Enjoy the challenging drive up north and then let the car/bike cool on the way back south. Stop here and there at some rest- and viewpoints to take in the nature all by itself, maybe even start a short hike and take some nice pictures like this one:

And once the cruise is back in Daluis turn around again and go for another power-drive up north. You're free to repeat until you get bored. Which, considering the uniqueness of both, road and nature, at this location, could take a while.

Cheers, 7 Skyrex

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Comments (1)

  • Thanks for sharing this. It’s one of the most beautiful roads I’ve seen in recent days.

      4 years ago
1