The descent to the Verdon by the chalet de la Maline

A very nice hike in the Gorges du Verdon to go down the gorges and join the Estellier footbridge.

There are few trails that go down from the top of the Gorges du Verdon to the bottom. One of these trails starts at the chalet de la Maline. It is quite long, it takes about an hour of descent to reach the Estellier footbridge. The ascent is rather difficult but there are no technical difficulties.

Interest: ratingvery good (1 user)
Difficulty: difficulty
Duration: 3 h.
Departure point (Google Maps)

The chalet of La Maline

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The chalet of La Maline
The start of the hike is at the level of the chalet de la Maline. There is a small parking lot just in front. Everything is well indicated, it is very easy to find the departure of the hike.

The start

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The start
The trail is not very shaded at the start but most of the descent is under the protection of the trees.

The Gorges du Verdon

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The Gorges du Verdon
The scenery is beautiful all along the trail.

Le Verdon

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Le Verdon
We see the objective of this hike: to reach the Verdon and the Estellier bridge.

The stairs

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The stairs
The descent is not very difficult even for people who are sensitive to vertigo.

Hikers on the trail

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Hikers on the trail

La fin de la descente

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La fin de la descente
At the river level, a signpost indicates the different possible directions. You can continue on the Blanc-Martel trail to reach the Samson Couloir and the Point Sublime (5h walk). You can also continue on the Imbut trail (1h30 walk). In our case we just want to reach the Passerelle de l'Estellier (15 minutes walk).

The banks of the Verdon

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The banks of the Verdon
After 1 hour of descent we reach the Verdon, in the background we see the Passerelle de l'Estellier.

The rapids

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The rapids
There are no swimming possibilities in the Verdon with this hike.

Catwalks

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Catwalks
The Estellier footbridge is the only passage that allows you to pass from one bank to the other in the Gorges du Verdon. Once you arrive at the footbridge you can continue on the Imbut path or retrace your steps to return to the chalet de la Maline

The view from the Chalet de la Maline

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The view from the Chalet de la Maline
After 1h30 of rather difficult ascent, you will be able to have a drink to rest and enjoy a great panorama on the terrace of the chalet de la Maline.

The Gorges du Verdon

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The Gorges du Verdon
The view from the chalet de la Maline is simply magnificent.

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