Pont du Gard: Canoe down the Gardon
A little east of Montpellier, between Uzès and Nimes is the Pont du Gard. This bridge built by the Romans was used as both a road bridge and aqueduct between these two cities. It is the theater of many cultural events as well as a recreational place during summer! At some point in time, people used to dive from it until it was forbidden a few years ago.
A nice way to discover the Gorges du Gardon is by going down the Gardon river by Canoe. This can be done easily as it does not require special skills, the Gardon is a slow river and the few rapids along the path are just there so you don’t fall asleep and give you some rest as you don’t have to paddle in those.
The departure is located at Collias (we rented Kayak Vert), you can stop as long as you like along the way. Either to eat something (you can bring almost anything with you as they provide some floating barrils) or to enjoy the sun while in and out of the refreshing water.
The normal duration of the descent is about 2 hours. When you see some buses and lots of canoes of the same color as yours on the left side of the Gardon, it’s time to stop there for the bus to take you back to Collias where it all began!
It is really a nice way to discover or re-discover the pont du gard!
