Geographical Wonders of France: Le Pont d'Arc

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In French, the word pont means bridge. This natural wonder is aptly named Le Pont d’Arc because it looks like a bridge. It is located in southern France, where the  Ardèche river eroded the stone over thousands of years to create this hollow archway. Le Pont d’Arc is a French Heritage site.

The arch is also the gateway to one of the most beautiful natural sites in France, Les Gorges de l’ Ardèche (the Ardèche canyon) – a very popular spot for canoeing and kayaking.

My daughter Celine negotiated part of the gorge with her Dad and a group of friends some years ago. This is her account:  “It took us 6 hours. The first part was exciting with rapids and gorges soaring above us. The scenery was stunning! The river actually took us through a nudist camp and in typical French style, they were using the river to swim and the beach to sunbathe. It was quite a revelation, as I was only 12 at the time! The second part of the journey represented more of a challenge. By then we were tired, the river had opened up offering less shelter and we were fighting against the head wind. The blisters faded quickly but the memories are still vivid and stayed with me to this day”.  

            

The village of Vallon Pont d’Arc (named after the arch) is an important prehistoric site and attracts visitors from all over the world especially in the summer.This is where you can find La Grotte Chauvet (Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave), the site of the oldest Paleolithic cave paintings created around 30,000 years ago. 

Located in a limestone plateau, the cave contains the earliest-known and best-preserved figurative drawings in the world, making it an exceptional testimony of prehistoric art. 

A rock fall closed the cave approximately 20,000 years ago and it remained sealed until its discovery in 1994, which helped to keep it in pristine condition. Over 1,000 images have so far been inventoried on its walls: they include animals species such as mammoth, bear, cave lion, rhino, bison, as well as remains of prehistoric fauna and a variety of human footprints. In order to preserve it, visitors are not allowed on the actual site but a reproduction of the paintings can be seen at Aven d'Orgnac



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