Durance by bike [from Monêtier-Allemont to Sisteron]

The Serre Ponçon Dam soon begins to divert a significant portion of its flow into the EDF canal. This structure will be the central feature of this stage, a mirror of water reflecting the Monges mountain range. The dam regulates floodwaters, leaving a river with limited fluctuations in flow. Beavers have returned to settle here, and more recently, otters as well.

No more winding paths; you lose yourself entirely as you follow the canal and the endless orchards, here and there, on the hillsides.

A quick glance at the hilltop villages, like Upaix, perched on outcrops of Triassic gypsum cutting through denser layers.

When you leave the canal to wander through the fields and glance over the ridge into the Buëch Valley, you easily forgive yourself for straying. Up above, you can take your time before plunging headlong into Provence, which opens its doors to you. We’ll marvel at the erratic boulders, carried on the back of a glacier and deposited when it melted, whose geological characteristics bear no resemblance to the local context.

The final gateway: Sisteron, impossible to miss, clinging to these inverted layers, verticalized by Alpine orogenesis. We’ll gladly spend a few hours here to treat ourselves to one last view of the high Alpine peaks. Then it will be time to head down to the lazy Durance River, which awaits us at its feet.

Source: https://laduranceavelo.fr/