A day in the Ecouges canyon

Vercors (France, Isère) Near Grenoble and Lyon

Municipality of Saint Gervais en Isère

https://goo.gl/maps/3TEXUL6PavcwiBfr8

The Ecouges canyon is an unforgettable 1/2-day or full-day adventure!

Here’s a quick description of a typical day!

Equipment for the canyoning trip

We’ll be meeting near the village of Saint-Gervais in Isère, amid fields of walnut trees (the emblematic tree of the Grenoble valley). After an introduction to the area, we’ll get kitted out with canyoning gear. We start with the neoprene wetsuit, which is great fun because it’s not easy to put on and you don’t look like much :)! Neoprene socks, harness and helmet are also included.

Once you’re well equipped for the canyon, we’ll take your cars back for a shuttle service, which consists of setting up cars at the top and bottom of the canyon, saving us a 2-hour walk back; you’ll thank us ;).

Canyoning briefing

Here we are at the top of the Ecouges canyon, starting with a short briefing on safety rules and the obstacles we’ll encounter. We’ll explain how to abseil, the correct positioning for the slides, the different techniques for jumps, communication and mutual aid between group members, and off we go!

Upper part of the Ecouges canyon

The upper part of the canyon runs through a magnificent, deep gorge, with one abseil after another, high and intense. The unique atmosphere makes this part of the canyon one of the most beautiful in France, with no steps between obstacles, and the climactic finale with a 63-metre abseil overlooking the Ecouges Valley makes this descent sensational.

Lower part of the Ecouges canyon

The lower part is more accessible and more fun, ideal for sporty families, EVGs or EVJFs and groups of friends. The many jumps are never compulsory, the slides are each more fun than the last, and the optional Tyrolean traverse instead of the 9-metre jump means everyone can have fun.

At Terra Nova, we offer a longer version of this canyon: instead of the not-so-interesting 1st abseil, you can descend further into the river to pick up 5 fun obstacles: 2 jumps and 3 slides, including the famous 9-metre one, and above all it avoids the tedious return walk of the normal version. With us, the return trip takes 15 minutes downhill, and the fare is the same!

End of canyoning

When we get to the cars, we’ll take off our gear – it feels good to take off the suit! We’ll pick up the cars upstairs and see you soon for new adventures! The photos taken by the instructor will be sent to you the week after the canyon trip, but you can also share yours with us – we love to see our faces in the canyons!