I got a taste of the Vercors on my trip along the E4 in 2011 but felt that I might be missing the best parts. The E4 took me along the western side of the plateau and although I experienced some of the huge characteristic limestone cliffs and gorges it was the ridge on the eastern side that looked really special. The escarpment, particularly when viewed from the north from the Chartreuse, looked like a frozen wave magically captured at the point of breaking. Well I’ve now been back, walked my own “Vercors Circular” and can confirm that this is an amazing place.
Geologically part of the sub-alpine Jura, the Vercors is separated from the Chartreuse, a sister range to the north, by the Isere Valley. It’s generally described as a plateau but the reality feels more complicated. Huge cliffs form the north, east and western boundaries but there are valleys on top of the “plateau” running north / south and gorges which slice into it from east to west. Across the valley to the east you have the Alps proper and to the west the Rhone valley and beyond that the Massif Central.
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| Day 2 Crete des Rochers de la Balme |
Geologically part of the sub-alpine Jura, the Vercors is separated from the Chartreuse, a sister range to the north, by the Isere Valley. It’s generally described as a plateau but the reality feels more complicated. Huge cliffs form the north, east and western boundaries but there are valleys on top of the “plateau” running north / south and gorges which slice into it from east to west. Across the valley to the east you have the Alps proper and to the west the Rhone valley and beyond that the Massif Central.
