Geographical Wonders of France: Le Pont d'Arc

-

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



.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Departements et territoires d'Outre-mer

-
Image
Départements et Territoires D’outre-mer. A thousand miles from mainland France, in the heart of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, lay amazing and unusual locations: the French overseas territories. Lush vegetation, spectacular panoramic views, beautiful white sandy beaches, mountains and waterfalls await you in this very different aspect of France.   The Départements et Territoires D’outre-mer  ( the overseas Departments and territories ) refer collectively to all territories under French sovereignty outside mainland France. They are considered an integral part of France and overall cover 12 time zones. All citizens living in overseas French territories can vote in the elections and have representation in the French parliament.   They include: The islands of Guadeloupe , Martinique , Saint Martin , Saint Barthelemy , Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Atlantic Ocean) Reunion Island , Mayotte , The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (indian Ocean) French P...
Read more

Joyeuses Paques

-
Image
  Pâques (Easter ) is one of the most important holidays in France and is celebrated with a traditional family gathering. Food is, of course, the main focus of the celebration with l’agneau pascal (roast lamb) taking centre stage. If you are walking around a French supermarket at Easter time, you might wonder why there are  les cloches de Pâques ( chocolate bells ) alongside the more familiar eggs. Traditionally, church bells ring every day of the year to invite faithful to attend the Mass. The only exception is in the run up to Easter, when they do not ring between Good Friday and Easter Sunday to commemorate the death of Christ and his resurrection. Myth has it that during this time, the bells fly to Rome to be blessed by the Pope.  The bells return the evening before Easter Sunday and randomly drop treats for children. On Sunday morning someone will shout “ les cloches sont passées ” (the bells have gone by) and the children run outside on the hunt for chocolate ...
Read more

La fete du muguet

-
Image
  The first of May has been an annual public holiday in France, known as La fête du travail (labour day)  since 1948. It  also marks a beautiful tradition  “la fête du muguet”   (lily of the valley festival). Back on 1 st  May 1560, King Charles IX of France was presented with a bouquet of  muguet  ( lily of the valley )   as a lucky charm. The king appreciated the gift so much that he decided to gift a bunch of lily of the valley to the women of his court every year on the 1 st  May. The gesture became more commonplace at the beginning of the 20 th  century with men presenting the flowers to women to show their affection. Today, it has become traditional to give a sprig of the blooms (or send a card) as a token of love or friendship and good luck to close friends and family members. For just one day each year, the French government allows the tax-free sale of lily of the valley on the street to promote this tradition. I rememb...
Read more