Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

France’s south-eastern department is more than the bucolic countryside of a Peter Mayle novel; it’s rocky fringes and historic towns have a majesty travellers often miss, writes Katja

Gaskell

Provence typically conjures up images of rolling green hills, endless rows of lavender fields and honey-stone hilltop villages, but in reality this area is much wilder than you might think. Its setting lies in the south-eastern corner of France, better known as the Provence-AlpesCôte d’Azure region, which is one of the country’s most diverse areas: a place where you can be rubbing shoulders with the glitterati in Cannes one day and scaling limestone peaks or skiing in the mountains the next. The Alpes-deHaute-Provence department is where this landscape shifts up a gear, revealing an increasingly steep terrain until it meets the jagged band of snowy summits that make up the southernmost portion of the French Alps. This topography is heaven for adventurers, with all kinds of thrills on the menu, from hiking and rafting to cycling, canyoning and, of course, mountaineering. In the south of the department lies the Verdon Natural Regional Park. Here you will find France’s answer to the Grand Canyon: Verdon Gorge, a breathtaking 25km-long ravine that sinks to a depth of 700m at points. The turquoise-green glacial waters of the Verdon River are a hotspot for watersports. Elsewhere, in the more remote reaches of the park, you may spy chamois, roe deer and wild

Scents and serenity

The lavender fields of the Valensole Plateau come to life between mid-June and mid-August, when they are at their most colourful; (previous spread) the 17th-century hilltop citadel of Entrevaux was boar roaming the land, while griffon vultures and golden eagles are known to patrol overhead. The rest of it is given over to the Plateau de Valensole, where endless lavender fields brighten the summer months.

To the west, the UNESCO-listed Luberon Regional Natural Park straddles the department border, spanning vineyards, orchards and oak woods that sprawl beneath craggy limestone mountains. The Luberon area is well known for its medieval villages perchés (perched villages), which totter on steep headlands. The most famous lie in the neighbouring Vaucluse department, but don’t ignore those on the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence fringes; their cobbled streets and diminutive town squares are equally charming and far less crowded.

The prefecture of the Alpes-de-HauteProvence is Digne-les-Bains, a sunny spa town and the self-proclaimed lavender capital of France – although plenty of towns make that claim. Regardless, it once charmed the BelgianFrench explorer, writer and anarchist Alexandra David-Néel so much that she settled there in 1928. And as she discovered, there’s plenty more to see. Towards the border with Italy lies Mercantour National Park, the Mexican villas of Barcelonnette and the region’s ski resorts, promising fresh snow under a blue Provençal sky.

“The Forcalquier area is rich in medicinal plants and natural herbs that have been picked and used by herbalists for centuries. The plants that grow here have a particular quality owing to the geography of our region; at night they are exposed to the cold temperatures of the Alps and during the day they enjoy the sunshine of Provence. We like to say that our sky is the purest in Europe. Pastis is a very old tradition in this region, and we have been making ours since 1924.”

Alain Robert is the owner of Distilleries et Domaines de Provence, which was founded in Forcalquier

44.0779° N, 6.2376° E