Canyoning in Southern Europe - Spain, France and Italy

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews

“Canyoning is like caving with no roof.” That’s a quote heard from at least one caver who enjoys the sport, so perhaps Cicerone Press’s book Canyoning will be of interest to others as well. It requires, after all, much the same techniques as are used in caves, just that there is less of a requirement for a hefty light.
This is an attractive book with plenty of colour photos and maps, and certainly worth the £12 it costs to add it to your shelf. It might be time for some caving abroad with an added canyon trip, during which you can persuade those canyoneers to go caving with you!
 

(Descent, August/September 2008)

After the introduction there is a good section on techniques, safety precautions and equipment required – after all, this is a pastime not for the faint hearted. The book is well laid out, with each route showing information on things such as the terrain, what the descent is like, what the ideal season is for canyoning, how long its likely to take and what maps you’ll need.
There’s also useful information on local and cheap accommodation, as well as some nice images of the surrounding countryside.
 

(Realtravel, August 2008)

For those not familiar with canyoning, it is best described as the descent of gorges by a mixture of walking, scrambling, swimming and abseiling.
The first forty-eight pages of this guide provide the background needed to introduce the reader to canyoning in Europe. Topics include the regions and their wildlife, the seasons and when to go, how to travel and get around, route grading, safety precautions, equipment, techniques and special considerations for aquatic canyons.
Approximately eighty pages are dedicated to the twenty-six routes in the Spanish regions of Sierra DeGuara, Costa Blanca and Mallorca. Fifty pages are dedicated to the fourteen routes in the French region of Haute-Provence including the areas around Apt, Vaucluse, Sisteron, Moustiers-Ste-Marie and Verdon. The last twenty pages describe the five routes on the Italian Island of Sardinia.

(Irish Mountain Log October 2008)