Walking in the Dordogne (8 days)
Self-Guided Walking Week
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This is a self-guided walking tour exploring the beautiful landscapes of the Dordogne hinterland, the Quercy. Comprehensive route notes allow you to walk at your own speed, enjoying the countryside, villages and river scenery. Baggage is of course transferred between nightstops for you, leaving you to walk unencumbered. With walks of around 16km each day this tour is suitable for any reasonably fit person who enjoys rambling.
South of the Dordogne valley lies the Quercy, a vast limestone plateau bisected by many rivers. The action of water has created strange natural phenomena here, with subterranean caves such as the Gouffre or chasm of Padirac, whose underground river reappears after 11kms as a resurgent spring in the natural rock circus of Montvalent.
Meanwhile the Ouysse and Alzou rivers have carved canyons in the porous stone, and the dramatic site of Rocamadour is built into the side of the Alzou gorge. On the plateau above, where sheep graze in tiny fields between crumbling dry-stone walls, are many megaliths and dolmens, and the towns and villages here are often fortified, a relic of the 13th century suppression of the Cathars. The River Dordogne was often the frontier between the opposing French and English armies during the Hundred Years' War, and stately chateaux still bear witness to those troubled times.
Gastronomically this is a land of plenty, the wiry stunted oaks in the stony ground conceal the buried black gold of truffles, still sought in the traditional manner with specially trained pigs or dogs, and these appear on menus, embedded in luxurious foie gras. Local lamb is also a delicacy, as are the tiny white goats' cheeses known as cabecous. The wines of Bordeaux are world-famous, but look out for the less well-known, but equally good Cahors, as well as Bergerac, Gaillac, and the local vineyard of Glanes, while the dessert wines of Monbazillac perfectly accompany many a local chef's exquisite desserts.
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