Soleilhas
Soleilhas is a charming, sleepy, medieval village of a hundred inhabitants, with a Mairie, shop and post office, set in the heart of the countryside. It has everything one dreams of in a Provençal village, old stone churches, an original lavoir (wash house), narrow streets with old stone doorways and is an ideal place to wander round and explore on a sunny evening. The village is in a stunning position dominated by the magnificent Crête du Teillon to the west and a stunning rock wall to the east.
The village is very peaceful with one little road winding through it going north to Col de St-Barnabé, Castellane and St-André-les-Alpes and south east to St-Auban and down to the Mediterranean.
There is something different to see here all year round. In the spring, the fields and hill sides are covered in wild flowers, in the autumn, mushroom madness hits the region.
Canyoning
The area has lots of stunning canyons, if you are particularly brave you can go through one with one of the local canyoning companies.
Perched villages
The area has lots of wonderful villages to visit, Entrevaux and Colmar designed by French military architect Vauban are both within driving distance.
Market days
Castellane has a very busy market day on Wednesdays and Saturdays, selling local cheese, dried meats, olives, honey, wine, soap etc. It can however be very quiet over winter time.
Bird watching
Vultures have recently been reintroduced to the Gorge du Verdon at the village of Rougon and can frequently be seen through out the region having now spread to the mountains above Soleilhas.
Horse riding
You can go horse riding with the Gite Tonic in St-Auban.
Gorge du Verdon
The Gorge du Verdon is Europe’s largest gorge – 700 m deep. You can view it in a variety of ways. On foot, there are some stunning walks which take you right down into the gorge itself. Rafting, canoeing and aqua rando are nice cool ways to take in the vast cliffs. Car touring – the Route des Crêtes is not for the novice driver.
Rock climbing
The Gorge du Verdon is world famous for its rock climbing but all over this region there are lots of cliffs to play on, nearby St-Auban has some good climbing as does Aiglun.
Water sports
As water is released from the dams above the Gorge du Verdon in a controlled fashion the nearby town of Castellane has become a water sports mecca. Several days a week the water is released so that you have the warmth of the South of France combined with the unusual phenomenon of water in the rivers. You can choose from a variety of crafts – inflatable canoes for one or two people, rafts, aqua rando where you walk and float down the river, tubing where you sit in an inner tube.
If white water isn’t for you, then why not try a leisurely canoe or pedalo round nearby Lac de Castillon. The Siroco beach near Castellane is a lovely place just to sit and sunbath taking in the azur blue of the lake whilst enjoying an ice cream.
Show caves
If you do get a rainy day there are three show caves which are well worth a visit at St-Vallier-de-Thiey.
Walking
The "Lou Jas" is ideally situated for those who like the outdoors with a wide variety of local walks. For those who like mountains, the Crête du Teillon is on the doorstep. For those who prefer more low level forest walks there is plenty of variety, walk on donkey paths to the ruins at Verraillon, to La Sagne, Les Coulettes or over the Tracastel ridge to give an excellent view into the Clue de St-Auban. For those who like ridge walks, the Cremon ridge above Vauplane affords excellent views down onto Lac de Castillon and Lac de Chaudanne.
For anyone doing the GR4, then the "Lou Jas" is an ideal stopping point being 10 minutes from Col de St-Barnabé on the route of the GR4.
Mountain biking
The area around Soleilhas is criss-crossed with forest tracks making this a mountain biking paradise.
On road cycling
Roads are generally quiet with good surfaces and plenty of cols to test your legs.
Fishing
There are trout ponds at St-Auban open March to November.
Air sports
For paragliding and hang gliding Soleilhas is ideally situated half an hour from St-André-les-Alpes and half an hour from Col de Bleyne, both of which have tarred roads to take off. Lachens, Gourdon and Gréolières are also nearby.
Welcome
The "Lou Jas" is a wonderfully authentic auberge where the locals come for a coffee in the morning and nothing is ever too much trouble.