Mont Ventoux Drive
|
|
A typical starting-point for a drive over the mountain is Vaison-la-Romaine to the northwest of the Ventoux Massif. Follow the D938 as far as Malaucène, then turn left on to the D974. This stretch, which traverses exceptionally beautiful scenery with magnificent views on both sides, climbs fairly steeply through coniferous forests. Some 16km/9mi beyond Malaucène, at an altitude of about 1,400m/4,595ft, there is a junction where a narrow road leads to the viewpoint of Le Contrat. Beyond the junction the D974 is closed in winter, and even in early summer the availability to traffic of this road, which in any case is not particularly wide, may be further restricted by snow on the northern flank of Mont Ventoux. For the last 6km/4mi the road winds upwards, the vegetation becoming increasingly scanty, until at 1,829m/6,001ft the highest point of the road is reached at the Col des Tempêtes (literally Pass of Storms), where there is an orientation table.
Read More