The Gervanne has carved its way through the limestone of the Vercors to form the Gorges d’Omblèze. This connection to the landscape is a starting point for choosing what to focus on during your stay in Omblèze: alongside the gorges and waterfall, there is a challenging circular hike, supervised tree climbing, the Plateau d’Ambel and a historical connection to the Ferme d’Ambel. These options differ in nature. When planning, it is therefore helpful to consider whether you would like to focus on a specific hike, the landscape, a supervised activity or history.

Gorges and waterfall

The Gorges d’Omblèze are designated as a classified site for their landscape value. Together with the Gervanne’s course through the limestone of the Vercors, they shape the landscape aspect of a trip. The Chute de la Druise is a 72-metre-high waterfall. The path there is steep, and the final metres are slippery; it gets very busy in summer, and parking is limited. If you plan to visit in summer, take the path conditions and parking situation into account.

Hiking and supervised tree climbing

“La croix d’Ambel par Omblèze” is a challenging circular hike. For this option, the difficulty of the hike is the main consideration; for a visit to the waterfall, it is the steep path, slippery final metres and busy summer conditions. This comparison helps you assess the two activities in light of their different planning considerations, without suggesting that they share a route.

Les Arborigènes offers a different kind of activity at a practice site in Omblèze: supervised introductory tree-climbing sessions. Les Arborigènes also offers overnight stays in a bivouac high up in the trees. The focus differs: the introductory sessions centre on the supervised activity, while the bivouac is about spending the night high up in the trees. You can take both options into account when choosing your stay, without having to make them part of a fixed itinerary.

Plateau d’Ambel and Ferme d’Ambel

The Plateau d’Ambel covers 1,231 hectares of pastureland and woodland. This makes a large area of landscape—with two clearly named features, pasture and forest—the focus. There are also three freely accessible shelters on the plateau. Local restrictions may affect access conditions, so check them before visiting. This lets you consider the plateau’s landscape and the practical question of access to the shelters separately when planning.

The history of the Ferme d’Ambel offers another perspective. From 1942, it sheltered a group of people who refused to take part in the STO. This historical episode offers a different focus from the gorges, waterfall, hiking or tree climbing. If you would like to include history in your travel plans alongside landscapes and activities, this specific connection is one of the themes you can consider for Omblèze.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Bardoux, La Laupie, Puygiron, Molières-Glandaz, Chamaloc, La Coucourde, Geyssans, Pont-De-L'isère

For the broader travel overview: Drôme.