Do you love water? The contact with the rock? The adrenaline? You will love canyoning! Quickly book your next canyon descent with the certified guides of La Plagne, and embark on an aquatic adventure combining white water, climbing, and river walking...
La Plagne answers all your questions about canyoning a little further down this page, under the list of activity providers. Keep scrolling!
Canyoning is a white-water sport that involves moving on foot at the bottom of a narrow and deep gorge (the famous canyon that gives its name to canyoning), carved into the rock by a watercourse over thousands of years.
Throughout your descent, you will need to overcome natural obstacles: sliding down a limestone or granite slide, jumping into a pool of water below, swimming to the next platform, rappelling down a waterfall, etc.
For this, you will be equipped with a thick suit (to insulate you from the cold), a helmet, and a special canyoning harness (with a kind of integrated "shorts" to protect your suit from erosion during your slides on the slides).
You will also need to bring a pair of shoes that are water-resistant and have good soles (running shoes or trail shoes, for example). They will come out all clean from this big wash that is canyoning!
Canyoning initiation outings are open to children from 8 years old. You just need to know how to swim!
Among the most popular canyoning sites around La Plagne are:
More than your physical condition, it’s your mindset that will matter in canyoning.
Can you swim? Are you a fairly active person? Does the approach walk (often short) not worry you? Then canyoning shouldn't be a problem for you, physically!
Canyoning is still an activity full of thrills. Adrenaline enthusiasts, whether at a low, medium, or high level, love it... while those prone to vertigo may not feel very calm throughout the activity.
Do you want to push your limits, at your own level? Talk to your guide! They will be able to direct you to the canyoning spot that best suits your desires and goals.
For example, if you are a beginner and dread jumping into the water, they will recommend a canyon descent without jumps, or with jumps that can be bypassed by the trail. This won't stop you from trying a few easy jumps thanks to their reassuring encouragement.
On the contrary, do you need a lot to have your heart racing? Your guide will be happy to take you to discover a more technical canyon, with jumps of several meters high, energetic slides, and dizzying rappels (like the one in the Angon canyon, which is nearly 70 m high!).
The duration of a canyoning outing depends on the length and technicality of the canyon you choose to venture into, as well as the level of the group (beginners, intermediates, presence of children…).
Another criterion to consider: the journey to the canyoning site (for example, the Eau Rousse canyon is only about 45 minutes' drive from La Plagne; while the famous Angon canyon is over 1.5 hours' drive, by Lake Annecy).
Access to the starting point of the canyon also requires a short approach walk. Once your canyoning outing is finished, you will also need to return to the parking lot.
To fully enjoy your canyoning session, plan for half a day or even a full day with your guide, including 1h30/2h in the water for the shorter outings (Eau Rousse canyon in La Léchère, Angon canyon by Lake Annecy), 2h15 in the water for the Pussy canyon (near Moûtiers), and up to 3h in the water for the longest outings (like the Écot canyon in Haute Maurienne, close to the charming village of Bonneval-sur-Arc).
Canyoning and rafting are both thrilling white-water sports.
Canyoning is practiced on foot, with a harness, in a sometimes winding gorge carved by a watercourse.
Rafting, on the other hand, is practiced aboard an inflatable boat, paddle in hand. During a rafting descent, you navigate a river that is anything but a long, calm river: on the contrary, rafters seek the thrills caused by currents, rapids, and waves!
