The Ardèche: France's stunning outdoor playground

It's filled with rock-strewn ravines, stunning villages, more than 6,000km of cycling trails and blissfully few crowds.

My bike glides downhill and the wind washes over me in an exhilarating wave. To the right, a  waterfall tumbles down an emerald hill. Stone houses line the road up ahead. Minutes later, the medieval village of Chambonas appears, its charcoal-turreted castle perched on a hill. I pedal on, take a sharp left after crossing a bridge, and roll into the village of Les Vans, exhausted and elated.

I've just spent three days cycling around rolling mountains, past rock-strewn ravines and through forests and stone villages in the western Ardèche, where signs for homemade goat cheese, chestnuts and honey frequently appear on the roadside.

Despite its beauty, many international travellers never explore the Ardèche. Located between two of France's popular destinations (Lyon and Provence), it's one of the nation's most rural corners, which adds to its appeal. Its forested mountains, rushing rivers and steep karst valleys have made it a veritable playground for outdoor enthusiasts and a refreshing alternative to the crowds who descend on the streets of Paris or the beaches along the Riviera each summer.

Due to its unruly mountainous geography and low population density, the Ardèche is the only of France's 101 departments without passenger train service, an airport and a highway. Instead, its historic Train de l'Ardèche tourist steam train, centuries-old vineyards, medieval villages and ancient caves evoke a sense of France as it once was.

As I'm discovering, the Ardéche boasts more than 6,000km cycling trails and a rushing river, making it easy for adventurous travellers to explore the region's hills and rivers on two wheels and with a paddle. So, after filling up on Dauphiné ravioli at Don Camillo restaurant and strolling Les Vans' cobblestone lanes, I head east and explore the best of this rugged region.

It's a 35km cycle (or drive) east from Le Vans along section six of the Grande Traversée de L’Ardèche to the village of Vallon Pont d'Arc. As I pass by rock formations, forest and sprawling vineyards, I'm lured by the sparkling Ardèche River snaking along the trail, and decide to take a 7km guided kayaking tour through some of its most scenic spots with Base Nautique du Pont d'Arc.

"You can drive for two hours and feel like you're crossing five different countries," Fabien Pignede, my guide with Base Nautique du Pont d'Arc, says of his home department as we paddle along the Ardèche River. "Different altitudes result in different ecosystems. That creates a lot of diversity."

This serpentine river was carved a canyon out of limestone 30 million years ago. Today it's the 1,575-hectare protected Réserve Naturelle des Gorges de l'Ardeche (Ardèche Gorges Nature Reserve), and one of the most striking natural landscapes in France. Ripe with opportunities for hiking, canyoning, climbing, water sports and spelunking, it's also home to some 500 plant and 100 animal species.

On the water, Pignede and I paddle through forests of holm oak and Aleppo pine,........

© BBC