Réserve naturelle nationale des hauts plateaux du Vercors
Réserve naturelle nationale des hauts plateaux du Vercors, National nature reserve in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
The reserve spans 17,030 hectares between the Drôme and Isère departments, featuring limestone plateaus, cliffs, alpine meadows, and forests at altitudes from 1,050 to 2,341 meters.
The area holds evidence of Neanderthal settlements and evolved through various dominions, including the Kingdom of Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire, with documented pastoral activities since the 13th century.
The reserve maintains traditional mountain pasture practices while supporting scientific research programs to monitor and protect animal populations within its boundaries.
Visitors must prepare their routes independently and carry water supplies, as water sources are limited throughout the protected area.
This territory represents the largest terrestrial nature reserve in metropolitan France, containing 1,200 plant species and 62 mammal species, including reintroduced Alpine ibexes.
Location: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Inception: February 27, 1985
Website: https://parc-du-vercors.fr/RNNHPV
GPS coordinates: 44.87780,5.48333
Latest update: September 1, 2025 07:45
France features a notable variety of protected natural areas, showcasing the country’s geological and ecological richness. From Lake Allos in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to the underground rivers of Padirac in Dordogne, from the mountain ranges of Savoy to the limestone formations of the Ardèche gorges, each region displays landscapes shaped over millennia of natural evolution. This collection gathers sites where nature is expressed freely: primary forests, karst systems, high-altitude lakes, moving dunes of the Atlantic coast, and rock formations carved by erosion. These areas provide diverse ecosystems, home to species adapted to different environments, from Alpine flora and fauna to dune communities and underground cave biodiversity. Each natural site in this selection serves as an open-air laboratory where geological processes, ecosystem dynamics, and living adaptation to local conditions can be observed. These sites invite discovery of authentic landscapes, removed from human impact, where geological time is evident in every rock formation and glacier valley.
Mount Aiguille
6.8 km
Vercors Regional Natural Park
6.5 km
Grand Veymont
3.5 km
Grotte de la Luire
4.4 km
Cirque d'Archiane
14.8 km
Pont de Brion
14.9 km
Abbaye de Valcroissant
15.2 km
Musée départemental de la Résistance du Vercors
9.1 km
Mémorial de la Résistance
10.3 km
Rochers de la Balme
13.1 km
Musée de la Préhistoire du Vercors
10.1 km
La forêt Labyrinthe
5.7 km
Église de l'Assomption de Clelles
12.4 km
L'Odyssée Verte
6.1 km
Église Saint-Barthélémy de Gresse-en-Vercors
7.1 km
Le petit monde des Santons de Provence
9.1 km
Église Notre-Dame de Chichilianne
10.2 km
Église Saint-Michel de Saint-Michel-les-Portes
8.9 km
Église Saint-Pierre du Monestier-du-Percy
16.7 km
Chapelle de Trézanne
8.5 km
Église Saint-Martin de Saint-Martin-de-Clelles
11.5 km
Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Vassieux-en-Vercors
9.2 km
Orbanne Viaduct
10.3 km
Parassat bridge
15.8 km
Pas de l'Aiguille
8 km
Moulins à vent de la Mure
9.2 km
Ermitage Notre-Dame d'Esparron
15 km
Nécropole nationale de Vassieux-en-Vercors
9.3 kmReviews
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