Mercantour - Gorges du Cians

By following the N202 from the Pont de la Mescla for about 19km/12mi we reach a junction on the right, the D28, which leads to the Gorges du Cians. The cleft which the River Cians has cut into the rock is up to 80m/263ft deep, but in places only a few meters wide. The road runs alongside the river at the bottom of the gorge.

The road first traverses the Gorges Inférieures, the 5km/3mi long stretch dominated by 450m/1,477ft high chalk pinnacles, to the Moulin de Rigaud. Then the road winds upwards into the more rugged and deeper Gorges Supérieures 7km/4mi long, which are entirely cut into the dark red porphyry.