A wild balcony road through Gorges de Galamus in France
Gorges de Galamus is a very scenic canyon located on the boundary of Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales departments, of the region of Occitanie, in France. It is one of the most famous French balcony roads.
Can you drive through Gorges de Galamus?
Tucked away on the southern part of the country, the canyon was carved by the Agly (the Eagle) River. The road through the canyon is a real challenge for any driver. It’s an amazing drive so narrow in places that two cars could not possibly pass. If you can cope with nausea inducing narrow roads with sheer drops, then this is the place for you. Nestled in the heart of the Fenouillèdes massif, the road through the gorges is totally paved. It’s called D7. The drive is 9.7 km (6,02 miles) long, running north-south from Cubières-sur-Cinoble (in the Aude department) to Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (in the Pyrénées-Orientales department).
Is the road through Gorges de Galamus difficult?
The road is extremely narrow. Crossing the gorges by car is possible all year round but in summers the road becomes very busy and the traffic problems are obvious. In July and August there’s a special regulation. Since 2003, alternating traffic has been set up. During July and August daily in the afternoon, there are traffic lights, and you may have to wait 15 minutes until you are allowed to enter. This road is one of the most famous balcony roads in France. These roads through the gorges are very lovely but can also be very challenging if you are driving, with many sections too narrow for cars to pass and a strong chance you will need to reverse around a blind corner on a narrow road.
When was the road through Gorges de Galamus built?
The gorges are located in the towns of Cubières-sur-Cinoble and Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet in the Pyrénées-Orientales and have a length of 2km. Because its narrowness, it is impossible to turn back. The views are stunning for passengers but you can't stop for the driver to see the views too. The weather is unpredictable. Expect high winds often. The twisty road is carved into sheer cliff walls that drop 1,000 feet into the river gorge below, with the short 3-foot stone wall offering no safety barrier if you hit it on a bike and flip over it. You can go slowly, but expect to be blocked and have some difficult if you cross someone from the other side. It’s an amazing drive through the narrow gorge with very steep and large drops to the river below. The gorges extend over 2 m, a spectacular natural site with vertiginous limestone cliff faces. It is recommended that beginner riders avoid this road. The gorges were impassable until the 1890s when the road was built by men attached to ropes.
Is the road through Gorges de Galamus dangerous?
Coming from Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet immediately before the amazing part of the route D7 starts, there is a small restaurant with a big parking place. The parking place for cars and motorbikes is a great viewpoint of the gorges. The pavement through the gorges has no guard rails but there is always a stone wall that protects you from falling into the gorges. Of course you can jump over the wall if you are tired of living but there is definitely no chance to fall down by accident. The road is definitely so small that big SUV-Cars would have problems to pass through. But if you are driving a “normal” car this is no problem. If a car comes contrary to you there are possibilities to pass by because every 100 meter there is a place to do it. You have to keep in mind that this road was built in a time when horse-driven carriages were normal. It’s impossible to turn a horse driven carriage around on such a small road – so the constructors had to provide possibilities. At the end of the 2 km (seen from Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet) there is again a parking place which is mostly used by drivers of cars and motorbikes to turn around to have this incredible thrill again. At this end the river is just a few meters below the road and on sunny days you can take a bath there.
Beware of many pedestrians with cameras as well as crowds of young people on the way to rafting adventures. 200 meters after the start of this amazing part of the D7 there is a hermitage that can be visited (no one is living there anymore). Beware of strong winds. The form of the gorge is like a nozzle. Do not drive into the gorge with a bicycle on stormy days. There are on both sides of the gorges warning sign because of this danger. Not a common sign. Especially at the start of the gorges (seen from Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet) the drop of the gorges is breathtaking. Motorbikes and cars might have no problems to pass by nearly on nearly every place on this road.
What to do on Gorges de Galamus?
Driving this road can be combined with 3 additional tourist attractions: Starting at Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet you pass the Gorges du Galamus on the D7. Don’t be confused by the street numbers: In France the streets are numbered by the different provinces. Due to the fact that you cross a province border the same street suddenly has the number D10. In Cubieres-sur-Cinoble turn right and follow the D14 until Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse where you can visit the ruins of an old Catharrer castle. Chateau de Peyrepertuse is really worth a visit – on sunny days you can see the sea. The street up to the parking place where the road ends is steep (partly more than 15%) and winding. Driving back you should go on driving the D14 until Cucugnan and enter the D123/D19 where you can visit Chateau de Queribus. You have to do a small walk from the parking place to the castle for both Queribus and Peyrepertuse. Caution: Bring water with you. On hot summer days the short walk can be really exhausting. Finally, going on driving the D19 until Maury you are driving the “Grau du Maury”. This road is wide, well paved, has only very few traffic and descends slowly until Maury. The very special thing of the “Grau de Maury” is the incredible view about surrounding mountains – You missed something if you have not seen this. All of this within a distance of less than 40 Km.
Road suggested by: Michael Spannlang