Trail des Gorges de l'Ardèche

The Trail des Gorges de l'Ardèche is a 77-kilometre ultra-trail event with 3,200 metres of positive elevation gain that crosses one of France's most iconic nature reserves. Starting from Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, a village at the downstream end of the famous gorges, this race invites ultra-trail runners to trace the course of the Ardèche river along wild trails overlooking this white limestone canyon stretching over 30 kilometres. The Pont d'Arc, a monumental natural arch 54 metres high carved by the river, alone symbolises the geological power of this territory and constitutes one of the most iconic passages on the course.

The 77-kilometre course is an odyssey through the most varied landscapes of southern Ardèche. The Gorges de l'Ardèche Nature Reserve, created in 1980, protects a Mediterranean ecosystem of exceptional richness: limestone cliffs sheltering colonies of Egyptian vultures and peregrine falcons, fragrant garrigue populated with holm oaks and cade junipers, caves and sinkholes revealing one of Europe's most developed underground karst networks. Runners travel along the hiking trail that follows the river's meanders, sometimes perched on cliffs 200 metres above the emerald waters, sometimes descending to pebble beaches where the river traces its majestic curves.

The historical and prehistoric dimension of this territory adds exceptional cultural depth to the race. The Chauvet Cave, discovered in 1994 just a few kilometres from the course, houses the oldest known cave paintings in humanity, dated to 36,000 years ago, and has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The gorges themselves have been inhabited by humans since prehistory, as evidenced by the numerous caves and rock shelters that line the course. Running along these gorges means literally treading in the footsteps of our most distant ancestors, in a landscape that has barely changed over millennia.

The 3,200 metres of positive elevation gain in this ultra event are distributed across a profile characteristic of races on karst terrain: climbs and descents are frequent, steep, and technical, with passages on limestone rock that can be extremely slippery in wet conditions. Night-time management, unavoidable in an ultra of this distance, adds a further dimension as headlamps illuminate the white gorge walls and the sounds of nocturnal wildlife — eagle owls, genets, beavers — accompany the runners' progress. Aid stations, set up in often spectacular locations beside the river or on viewpoints overlooking the gorges, offer welcome moments of contemplation amid the effort.

Saint-Martin-d'Ardèche, the race start point, is a typical Provençal village located at the confluence of the Ardèche and the Rhône, easily accessible from the Rhône Valley (A7 motorway, TGV stations at Orange, Montélimar, or Avignon). The region offers varied accommodation, from riverside campsites to Provençal farmhouses converted into charming bed-and-breakfasts. For international runners, this is a unique opportunity to combine a demanding ultra-trail with the discovery of a territory of inexhaustible natural and cultural riches: the Chauvet Cave replica (Chauvet 2), the characterful villages of Aiguèze and Balazuc, the Southern Côtes du Rhône vineyards, and the lavender of the Ardèche plateau compose an exceptional stay programme.