Canoe and Hike adventure along the Vezere River

December 21, 2009

Walking Dordogne has the well deserved reputation for offering the best and most unique tours and trips in the Dordogne. Hiking, canoeing, horse riding, mountain biking and caving are all on the must do list for visitors wanting to experience the Dordogne, and not just see the Dordogne.

For 3 years now, they have been taking small groups from every corner of world into the very remote and unmapped parts of the Dordogne, exploring prehistoric caves, shelters, troglodytes as well as Roman and Medieval ruins.

From Walking Dordogne’s Blog

NEW FOR 2010 “Sacred River of Dreams”

After our “Valley of Caves” tour, the “Canoe / Hike the Vezere’ is our second most popular trip, and last year we had to turn down 47 people for this trip alone. “Canoe Hike the Vezere” is a fantastic (long) day trip, as the title suggests, canoeing and hiking to various prehistoric places of interest. However, we did have one big problem with this trip, and that was to decide WHICH prehistoric sites to hike to, because we can only fit so much into “Dawn till Dusk” and there is just so much to see, so, we came up with this new Trip Sacred River of Dreams.

Sacred River of Dreams is the ultimate adventure, we will canoe and explore 30 miles of the Vezere River. Our ancestors settled here, and roamed this area more than 460,000 years ago. These were the hunting grounds of the Neanderthals, and it was here that our ancestors the Cro Magnon settled. This area is riddled with prehistoric caves, shelters and troglodytes, that are unmapped, unknown and unforgettable. Too much to explore in just one day, so we will stay a night in a real Neanderthal cave, with spectacular views of the valley and river. On day 2 we will continue down river and continue our exploration, and at the end of this adventure we will all enjoy a delicious meal in Les Eyzies de Tayac.

This trip will be offered twice a week, from April thru October 20th. NO trips during July and August, and a max. of 6 people per trip ( 3 canoes)

If you would like to do a canoe / hike trip like this, but would rather not, or cannot do an overnight trip, then consider our “Canoe / Hike the Vezere” trip.

As with ALL our trips, you are guaranteed a UNIQUE and exciting trip of a lifetime.

For more info about this and other fantastic and unique trips in the Dordogne, visit : www.walkingdordogne.com

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Walking Dordogne goes Underground

April 28, 2009

blue-trans Walking Dordogne is extremely excited with the launch of their new, exciting and unique tour ” Going Underground”

We have spent 2 years exploring the caves, and beyond. “Going Underground” is NOT a “Potholing” adventure, but an adventure for the hikers that want to experience another world underground.
These caves, chambers and tunnels have been used for 1000′s of years, and they played an extremely important role during the Second World War, where they were used by the French Resistance.

This adventure is suitable for most people, but requires a high level of fitness, the ability to clamber, and not claustrophobic.

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Certified guide to historic Vezere Valley

May 7, 2008

What an incredible day!. We met our guide for the cave region, Bart Vranken, just after breakfast, and before long he had us spellbound. His knowledge of history, art and philosophy was so well integrated, and he is so articulate, that the information came forth like a river, and all we had to do was to stay alert and process it all! This was a man with a plan. Bart arranged for us to be the first tour of the day at Rouffingnac, so no crowds would mar our experience?..

Bart Vranken

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Hell’s Gorge Les Eyzies

April 17, 2008

Walking Dordogne has about 20 excellent walks in their Itinerary, varying from 3 hours to 10 hours, most walks can be combined with other walks to make them longer or shorter. Our walks are guaranteed to show you the REAL Dordogne, and take you to all the main highlights this region is famous for.Our walks are suitable for all ages, but for most walks a certain level of fitness and stamina is required. Most walks are on tracks & trails, some marked, others not. Certain walks to caves, dwellings, ruins and view points are off the tracks, and up hill walking is often required.

Some of our walks may not be suitable for people with a fear of heights.
The great thing about Walking Dordogne is that our walks are not planned months or weeks ahead, we usually plan the walks together with the customer the day before, depending on the wishes and preferences of the customer, this way we can make sure everyone gets to see what they want to see. If the walks are done in combination, with canoeing or horse riding, then these walks are usually planned ahead, to guarentee the use of the horses or canoes.

As of April 10th 2008 we will be adding “Hell’s Gorge” to our already fantastic list of day trips. This trip will take you to some wonderful and exciting places somewhere along the Vezere Valley. Caves, rock overhangs & shelters, trogladytes, ruin of a templars hospital, ancient villages excellent views of the Vezere Valley and lots more. This trip is suitable for all ages, a certain level of fitness is required ( lot’s of uphill and climbing & crawling) and lasts about 4-5 hours. Remember, these caves, shelters, troglodytes, caverns are NOT mentioned in any books, or on any maps.

Below are some pics taken on this trip.

To see the REAL Dordogne, visit: www.walkingdordogne.com

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Race to save moulding Lascaux cave paintings

January 2, 2008

By John Lichfield in Paris


The French government is taking emergency action to rescue the world’s most celebrated prehistoric cave paintings from a second fungal invasion in seven years.

Each day until 8 January, experts are treating the caverns at Lascaux in the Dordogne – nicknamed the Sistine Chapel of pre-history – with a fungicide to try to check a gradual spread of spots of grey and black mould. The caves will then be closed to all but essential visitors for three months.

An air conditioning system, installed just before a similar fungal attack seven years ago, is to be replaced. Some scientists believe the introduction of the machinery was misconceived and may be partially responsible for the fungal invasions.

Other experts blame global warming for increasing the temperature in the caves. Others point to an increased level of human activity in the caverns as part of an ambitious attempt to create an exact computerised record in three dimensions of the 17,000-year-old paintings of bison, wild cattle, deer and other animals.

Whatever the explanation, the French government has decided to take no risks and to accept the advice of a committee of experts which met at Lascaux, in south-western France, just before Christmas. The fungicide will be sprayed on the stricken areas of the cave walls. The three-dimensional survey will be halted. The air-conditioning unit will be replaced.

No public visits to Lascaux have been allowed since 1963 but almost all visits by scientists and historians will be banned for at least three months.

Officials from the French government’s department of historic monuments and experts from all over the world have been quarrelling for years over the best way to preserve the paintings. Last September, the “International Committee for the Conservation of Lascaux”, infuriated Paris by writing a letter to the UN cultural body, Unesco, asking for the caves to be included in the official list of world heritage sites “in peril”.

The French government has minimised the scale of the new fungal attack. Officials say that the invasion is much smaller than the blankets of white fungus which spread over the walls of the caverns, and some of the painting, in 2001 and 2002. On this occasion, only small areas of pre-historic drawings have been touched and none has been damaged. Scientists fear, however, that the second attack, so soon after the first, is a warning that the micro-climate in the caverns has been permanently altered in ways which may be difficult to reverse.

The American scientist Laurence Léauté- Beasley, president of the international Lascaux committee, has called for the management of the caves to be taken out of the hands of the French government and entrusted to a “higher scientific body”. She accuses French authorities of “improvisation” and “lack of scientific thoroughness”.

The Lascaux paintings were discovered by four teenagers in September 1940. The 600 images of bison, horses, wild cattle and ibexes, some at rest, some running or jumping, are regarded as among the finest cave paintings in the world. It is thought that they were painted between 15,000 and 17,000 years ago by hunter-gathering people who crushed minerals to create drawings in red, ochre, brown and black.

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