Gorges de la Jonte, Canyon and nature reserve in Veyreau, France

The Gorges de la Jonte is a 20 km canyon cut by the Jonte River between the Causse Méjean and the Causse Noir, with walls 300 to 450 m deep in Dogger limestone. The cliffs show vertical faces, stepped ledges and eroded pillars streaked with reddish-brown minerals, and green vegetation lines the rims and ledges. Stone structures stand on the lower slopes.

The canyon's limestone walls formed during the Jurassic period from ancient seas, leaving layers of rock that hardened over time. The Jonte River then slowly carved its path through this stone, creating the canyon we see today over millions of years.

The Maison des Vautours explains the griffon vulture reintroduction begun in 1970, the first successful such programme. Later black vultures, Europe's largest tree-nesting bird, were released, and Egyptian vultures returned on their own. In 2005 the site held an estimated 130 to 140 resident griffon pairs and about twenty black vulture pairs.

The D996 from Meyrueis to Le Rozier runs along the gorge and gives access to the viewpoints and trailheads. Marked hikes leave from Le Rozier and the causse Méjean, passing the Balcon du Vertige, the Vase de Sèvre and the Vase de Chine. The Maison des Vautours charges an entry fee and has an observation point over the vulture colony.

The Jonte gorges hosted the first successful reintroduction programme of griffon vultures, begun in 1970. By 2005 the resident population was estimated at 130 to 140 pairs, alongside about twenty pairs of cinereous vultures, Europe's largest tree-nesting bird, which were later reintroduced; Egyptian vultures then returned on their own.