Top 10 Summer Activities in the French Alps - Part 1

Posted 24-06-2011 by Sally Guillaume

An opportunity for us to shamelessly plug some of the fantastic activities you can do on a summer holiday with Undiscovered Mountains, but also hopefully a chance for you to discover activities you might never have otherwise thought of doing!

10. High Ropes Adventure:

“In at ten and down two places from last week”, I jest, but our first activity is High Ropes Adventure! You may have seen these sorts of tree top adventure centres opening across the UK within recent years, but these have been a fixture in the French Alps for almost as long as the taste for exploring gripped this fantastic region. Negotiating zip wires, spider nets, tight ropes and wobbly wooden blocks while being suspended in the trees are all in a days work on the High Ropes! We also have the biggest in Europe that you can explore, which is ideal for the real adventure and thrill seekers amongst you.

9. Mountain Biking

With an amazing array of mountain biking routes and disciplines available, you will never be bored. Choose from challenging single track downhill, to enduro routes, to a bike park full of technical trails packed full of features to a more relaxing cross country route for a family to enjoy with stunning views! The Southern French Alps really has it all. Top all of this off with the most sunshine out of the whole of the Alps, and top of the range bikes and equipment for you to hire, why go anywhere else!? For the keener rider, we have some fantastic Mountain Bike Holidays to choose from, including our new Alps to Provence route.

8. Kayaking

From whitewater river kayaking to more relaxed lake kayaking, you can have an amazing time kayaking with Undiscovered Mountains, no matter what your level. The kayaking on the lake is a very popular activity and is spent normally at either the Lac De Serre Poncon or Lac de Sautet, both spectacular alpine lakes with deep blue crystal water and fantastic scenery for you to enjoy from the water. Our whitewater kayaking is that popular, we have even created specific holidays for it, at both an intermediate and beginner level! We have a number of different rivers to choose from for differing abilities, and we are also just round the corner from the slalom world championships this year which you can go to enjoy when you need a break from the water yourself!

7. A Night in a Refuge

Something a bit different in at number 7 – A night in a refuge. Mountain refuges are dotted around the Alps, and are essentially there to provide refuge for mountaineers and walkers. In the summer months, some of these mountain refuges are open to the public to stay in and have a custodian who looks after the hut and its guests. As part of this activity, you set off on a walk – anything from 1.5 to 8 hours, and arrive in the mountain refuge where you spend the night with all of the other guests, provided with a 4 course evening meal and socialising and sleeping in dormitory style accommodation. A fantastic, truly authentic French experience, in the heart of the mountains with good views and company – a worthy addition to any summer activity holiday!6. Caving

With the Champsaur and Valgaudemar valleys being in such close proximity to the Devoluy Massif, we have a caving playground for you with experts and guides. For those of you who have never felt brave enough to experience this underground labyrinth, we have a great taster session for you to get to grips with caving and used to being underground. You can enjoy underground lakes, streams, tunnels, ice caves and even an underground glacier. For the more experienced or athletic, you can spend longer in the cave, venturing deeper underground with more technical routes, which will prove challenging to even the fittest!

The top 5 will be coming up shortly so watch this space! Is there an activity you would most like to see in the top 5 that hasn’t been yet, why not write a comment and let us know! Alternatively get in touch via facebook or twitter!