ラ・ジャヴィの天然記念物・トップ15

It's a dream to ride through here. I recommend getting there early and starting at the Col du Fanget, so it's a constant descent. Breathtakingly beautiful!

The canyon is something exceptional

Obligatory photo when you arrive at this waterfall.

At the bend of a hairpin bend, this egg is a work of Andy Goldsworthy. This is one of the three “Sentinels” of the Refuge d’Art course; it represents the Asse valley.

A wild and picturesque place and very rich in environmental terms: exceptional plants (orange lilies, goat's beard, coal, yew) colonize its inaccessible walls. The waterfall offers us, through its different lighting, and throughout the seasons, a very beautiful and always renewed spectacle. It is also an archaeological site since in 1953 workers discovered over the waterfall, under a rock, about forty ancient weapons dating from the 4th century BC. They are currently stored in the Digne les Bains museum.

This strange construction which sits in one of the bends of the Col du Défens is in reality a work by Andy Goldsworthy, a major figure in land art. It is part of the route entitled “Refuge d’art” which offers a 150 kilometer hike, imagined and created by the British artist through the National Geological Nature Reserve of Haute-Provence. This artistic itinerary, original and unique in Europe, combining contemporary art, hiking and rural heritage, includes ten works scattered throughout the Dignois region. Among them, three ovoid stone cairns, designated as “Sentinels”, one for each of the three valleys of the Haute-Provence Geological Reserve. Besides this one which represents the Asse valley, you can find another sentinel in the Clue de Barles, at the edge of the road at the foot of the cliff, representing the Bès valley, and the third in the commune of Authon in the Vançon valley. “It is the top of the cairn which brings the energy of the stone to its peak, just as it is in the keystone of an arch that all the energy is concentrated. »Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy's work and vision were the subject of a film entitled "Rivers and tides" which you can see here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15e83f?playlist=x54l1y or just the trailer: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjggqk?fbclid=IwAR2l_oUGJuU5sc5vLobLojCfRrBf3xa42fqjOKc-uL4DrOQomGKoypSHfWk For more information on the “Refuge d’art” route: https://www.tourisme-alpes-haute-provence.com/refuge-art-andy-goldsworthy/

In the hollow of a canyon that splits the rock, the road opens up spectacularly in the heart of the mountain along a bubbling river. Gorgeous !

The passage in the canyon as in the photos is not very long, but the whole road is great.