The Gardon Gorges

A walk beginning above the Gardon Gorges and continuing down along Gardon River. Please note that part of the route crosses an area destroyed by fires in 2017.

Technical sheet

70551
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.37 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 247 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 248 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 178 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 29 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Leave your car at the paid car park, between the bakery and André Clément Hall.

Red and White Waymarks
(S/E) At the car park, turn left along 'Avenue du Pont', then continue down 'Rue de la mairie' on the left. Carry on along 'Rue de la Republique' until you reach the sign 'Collias - Le Portalet'.
Take 'Grand Rue' on the right, which goes through the village and comes out onto the D112 (Route de Sanilhac).

(1) Turn immediately left down 'Rue du Barry'. 200 m further down the hill, before passing by a porch, the waymark turns right by the orangery along a path which runs alongside some properties for about 300m.
Near a white gate, the waymarks turn right onto a paved road. At the next crossing, turn left onto the 'Chemin du camp Grec'. After a further 20m, at the fork, continue straight ahead, then alongside the last property, the waymarks lead you up a trail to the left.
This trail climbs up through some shrubbery to the top of the gorges. You will reach a lone pine tree.

(2) Fork right (after taking a few steps to your left to admire the first view of the gorges). The trail (GR) continues on the ridge, then turns right at a fork offering view of Uzes on your right. You will come out onto a trail 50m further along (sign DFCI-B127)

(3) Turn left on this trail and continue for 900 m until you reach the sign forMenude.

(4) Follow the yellow waymarks to your left, leading to Sanilhac et Sagriès and La Grande Terre (ignore the tracks off to the right and ahead). Further on, you'll see a cairn indicating the starting point of another trail on the left-hand side, ignore it. 20 m further at a fork, follow the trail (GR) to the right. This trail will cross another path: continue straight ahead and at the signGrande Terre, the trail will eventually join the track.

(5) Take the track which bears slightly left towards Sanilhac et Sagriès and Les Condamines for about 300m.

Yellow Waymarks'
(6) At the sign for Les Condamines,turn left onto the trail leading to La Baume. The path takes you through oaks and boxwoods. After leaving this tunnel of vegetation, ignore the path to the left and continue straight ahead.
The path heads up to the top of the gorges and turns left. The descent, which is steep in some areas, is equipped with metallic steps. Lower down, depending on the time of year, it is possible to take a path to the right to reach a cave where there are bats. The cave is closed from November 15th to March 15th (hibernation period) and from May 1st to August 15th (breeding period). Continue on to the foot of the Gardon river near the ruins of an old mill (sign for 'La Baume').

(7) From this sign you can make a return journey to Saint-Vérédème Chapel and the cave by walking back up the Gardon river for about 100 m, then continuing up the access track on the right along the cliff.

(7) When back at the 'La Baume' crossing, walk down the Gardon River, still on the left bank towards 'Collias'. The trail winds between areas of forest and the river banks for 5 or 6 km leading to 'Collias'.
Take care when you cross the stony parts, as the path is sometimes hard to see, however the waymarks are still present and you need to follow the river in any case.

(8) After a small section equipped with a metal cable, the track leads past the foot of a 'Via Ferrata' and eventually gets closer to 'Collias'.

(9)At the sign for Saint Vincent, continue straight ahead towards 'Collias', go past a restaurant and walk towards the bridge.
Turn left, just before the bridge, then climb the stairs to the right, leading you to the D3 (Avenue du pont). Turn left towards the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 47 m - Car park next to the Espace André Clément
  2. 1 : km 0.58 - alt. 66 m - Left Rue du Barry
  3. 2 : km 1.79 - alt. 152 m - Lone pine
  4. 3 : km 2.51 - alt. 164 m - DFCI-B127 panel, left
  5. 4 : km 3.32 - alt. 143 m - Menude panel
  6. 5 : km 4.84 - alt. 175 m - Grande Terre panel
  7. 6 : km 5.1 - alt. 172 m - Les Condamines sign
  8. 7 : km 6.12 - alt. 47 m - La Baume sign - Le Gardon
  9. 8 : km 8.87 - alt. 34 m - Wired passage
  10. 9 : km 10.86 - alt. 32 m - Saint-Vincent sign
  11. S/E : km 11.37 - alt. 47 m - Car park next to the Espace André Clément

Practical information

A torch comes in useful to visit the cave.

In the nearby area

Saint-Vérédème chapel
There are only the remains left of the chapel and an astonishing 150 m long cavity, Saint-Vérédème cave. Located in a vertical wall, it forms a tunnel. It was inhabited during the ancient Paleolithic, then by Neanderthals, and later during the Neolithic period. Numerous ceramics have been discovered here, nowadays exposed in Nîmes Museum.

Myth or reality? Saint-Vérédème (640-720AD) was a Greek hermit who settled by Gardon River and was afterwards joined by Saint Gilles. People used to think they were responsible for numerous miracles, including providential rains.
Saint-Vérédème succeeded Saint Agricol as bishop of Avignon. He was long considered the saint of Crau's shepherds. He died in 720 AD.
The chapel (VIII th century) is thought to be the oldest Christian construction in the lower part of the Languedoc area.
The roof harbors a cradle shaped vault, and the apse is decorated with paintings from the 8th century.
The stairs were subsequently drilled for better access to the cave. The Sanilhac inhabitants used to organize a yearly pilgrimage to 'La Baume' in order to solicit fertile rains. This practice seems to have died out after 1962.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 242 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
Claude R3.
Claude R3.

I completely agree.

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Dom6269
Dom6269

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very beautiful hike on the plateau and then at the bottom of the gorges.
The descent is steep but not particularly difficult.
The short detour to the chapel is well worth a look.

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User 21386074

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful route along the ridge in the morning. The heat wasn't too bad. As we were accompanied by a large dog, we took a detour via the path from Sanilhac. This added a good half hour to our journey. Combined with a slow train and a long stop by the Gardon river, we didn't set off back towards Collias until 2pm. The intense heat at the bottom of the valley made this route very challenging. Be careful, as much of the valley is exposed to the sun. It is therefore important to plan your schedule, protection and hydration carefully.

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Claude R3.
Claude R3.

OK

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resideo
resideo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice family outing.

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Claude R3.
Claude R3.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

The walk is superb, but the descent from the plateau to the Gardon is not easy. All you need to do is change the topo and extend the route by a kilometre on the plateau to take the next descent to the Gardon, which is very quiet and also allows you to admire the ruins of the mill, the chapel and the grotto ...........

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User 25751582

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

I did this little hike with my boyfriend when the weather was fine and I can highly recommend it.
We consider ourselves to be rather beginners (we don't hike very often and don't do much sport).
I was apprehensive about the descent, which some people described as almost "dangerous", but I found that in the end it wasn't very complicated. There are ramps to help in certain places, if need be.
It took us an hour and a half to get to the river, where we had a swim, and then another hour and a half to finish the hike.
A total closer to 3 hours than 4, at a leisurely pace.
A very nice hike for a fun day at the river!

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philibert.sylvie
philibert.sylvie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

The end of the world! We only met 2 or 3 people... Beware of the short, steep section equipped with iron steps, which should only be done in dry weather (this is just my impression, of course!).

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seryxette
seryxette

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Magnificent hike.

It offers a great variety of scenery, is easy to follow on Visorando and the trail itself is well signposted. Combining the two gives us confidence that we're heading in the right direction. The path is not very busy at first, then you come across a few people along the Gardon.

The descent can be a little daunting if you're prone to vertigo, but it's not difficult and you can overcome your fear, because the second part is so beautiful! It's well worth the effort.
Like others, we recommend hiking when it's not yet too hot.

Having said that, it was a wonderful discovery and we'll be doing it again.

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Mimigm
Mimigm

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A parish specific to Brittany
This is the second time we've done this hike and we never tire of it.
Be careful: the descent is steep but well laid out.
You need to have lunch on the banks of the Gardon near the old mills.
The baume was open and we crossed it.
However, we couldn't find the route to get there on the way down.
So we'll do the walk again the other way round, i.e. along the Gardon at the start, then back up through the Baume to find the path.

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visy
visy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice, varied walk, beautiful scenery and views of the gorges, then a walk along the Gardon for the last 5-6 km. We went as far as the chapel, which is very close and interesting. The descent to the banks of the gorges is quite steep, but not particularly difficult.

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adamsconscious
adamsconscious

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful route with magnificent scenery. The descent into the valley is a little technical. This limits the walk for children for safety reasons. The section along the river bank can be submerged at times, so we had to take off our shoes and walk about fifteen metres barefoot in the water.

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Mathias_Farrugia30
Mathias_Farrugia30

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Avoid it!
A very nice route for the first 7 kilometres. Note that one section is quite difficult for some people (steep descent over rock). And don't make the diversions as far as the chapel and grotto, as both are closed to access, which makes the place rather uninteresting.
At the bottom, near the gardon, the signpost indicates the way to Collias, but after one or two marks indicating the way, these disappear, leaving us to guess which path to take. As we continued along the river, the path was no longer clear: there was only one path to the left, which stopped immediately; as we were not alone in this, some people decided to cross the Gardon on foot to find a path.

So it's a good path to start with, but it's unacceptable and dangerous because you're on your own at the end, which makes it difficult to turn around depending on the time of day.

We really don't recommend it until the path has been clearly defined.

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BG30
BG30

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

An interesting and pleasant walk, not very busy at this time of year. There were no problems on the paths, which are sometimes overgrown, as recent maintenance had been carried out. The metal supports and handholds for the descent to the Gardon are very well positioned.

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GillesdeSVLC
GillesdeSVLC

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

un régal super rando avec un peu de route mais rien de méchant 🙂👍
Otherwise a lot of Roman vestiges nickel voilà

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