Five Best: Outdoor activities in Avignon & Provence

Via Ferrata

This is essentially high-altitude rock-climbing for people who don't want to go to all the trouble of learning that tricky art, but do want instant adrenalin-gratification. The term is Italian for "Iron Way", but it has nothing to do with railways. It originated in the First World War when Italian soldiers needed to cross the Dolomites: they bolted iron ladders and steel cables to the mountainsides. Since then, it's developed as a sport and spread well beyond the Dolomites.

Despite the fact that you are often in an apparently precarious position, in theory the activity should not be dangerous. Climbers are permanently attached to a steel cable on the rock-face by a system of karabiners and ropes. In fact, the activity is considered so safe that you don't even need a guide. But don't assume it's easy; the courses can ascend to 2274m and there are rope bridges and zip lines to tackle along the way.

La Colmiane is a popular base for courses in Vallée de la Vésubie and there are a number of equipment hire places. Course lengths vary from three to five hours.

If you want a guide, you can hire one from the Bureau des Guides or join one of their guided climbs (00 33 4 93 02 88 30).

Cycling

Provence is the perfect territory for two-wheel travel. Its incredible terrain is covered with cycle tracks made for day trips or longer itineraries. If you're blessed with thighs of steel and lungs the size of hot-air balloons, head to Mont Ventoux in Vancluse in the Haute-Provence region for 16 of the Provence's toughest cycle trails (00 33 4 90 65 22 59; www.lemontventoux.net).

You should take some pride if you make it to the top in under three hours. In fact, some cyclists attempt it with no expectation of actually getting there; they just want to see for themselves how difficult it is. For the rest of us, the easier circuits of the Lubéron and Massif des Maures may seem more inviting; views over vineyards, olive groves, fruit farms and lavender fields make pedal-pushing all the more pleasant. Alternatively, the Parc Naturel Régional du Lubéron has a circular 230km trail that makes for a mildly strenuous ride (www.veloloisirluberon.com).

A great option for day-trippers is the 50km Ocres en Vélo trail that takes you through the remarkable rusty-coloured scenery of the old ochre mines.

White-water rafting

With Europe's largest canyon in the region, there's so much more to water-based activities in Provence than the clichéd yachting and jet-skiing along the French Riviera. The Gorges du Verdon is 700m deep in places and the perfect environment for white-water activities such as kayaking, rafting, hydrospeed (tackling the rapids on a bodyboard), hot-dogging (going down the river in an inflatable canoe), canyoning, and water-rambling with motorbikes. Castellane is the main centre for white-water activities and here you can join for half or full-day expeditions. Companies offering trips to the gorge abound. Expect to pay anything from €30 (£22) for a half-day rafting. Try Aqua Viva Est (00 33 4 92 83 75 74; www.aquavivaest.com) for a variety of activities.

Extreme sports

Laid-back Provence may not seem a likely location for heart-pounding activities but the region provides a fair few. Adrenalin junkies can bungy jump off Europe's highest bridge, the Pont de l'Artuby, which spans the Gorges du Verdon in Haute-Provence. At 182m it's only 34m less than the world's highest - the 216m Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa. Latitude Challenge (00 33 4 91 09 04 10; www.latitude-challenge.fr) offers jumps for €98 (£70). The company also arranges parachute jumps but most people who have experienced both insist that bungy-jumping is scarier.

If aerial activity is not your thing, but you crave a thrill, try ice-diving. Wearing a dry-suit, aqualung - and tied to an instructor - you lower yourself through a black hole cut in the ice into an underworld of glinting blues, whites and aquamarines. Viewing the ice from beneath is an eerie experience. Torchlight is used to illuminate the ice-formations and your own air bubbles frantically trying to escape. Ice-diving can be done in Lac Ste-Annes and Lake Tignes (further into the Alps) from mid-December to early April from €50 (£35). Try Aqua Logis (00 33 4 92 45 00 68; www.aqualogis.com) or Evolution 2 (00 33 4 79 06 43 78; www.evolution2.com).

Hiking

Provence has an impressive array of trails which are both excellently marked and in good condition. There are a number of alpha-numerically labelled long-distance paths (grande randonné) as well as the shorter sentiers balisés. The GR51 is known as the Balcony of the Côte d'Azur and runs for 508km between La Madrague and Menton with sparkling sea-views and charming villages scattered along the way. There are plenty of hiking guidebooks available from the area's many tourist offices, which also arrange walks. Contact the tourist board on 00 33 4 91 56 47 00 or see www.crt-paca.fr. The best season for walking is from April to June when the flowers are blooming, everything is fresh and the facilities are all open without the peak-season hordes. You also avoid the necessary annoyance of the closure of a number of paths: 1 July to 15 September is the peak forest-fire season, although it is still possible to hike on most parts. See www.cdig-var.org for more up-to-date information.

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