Serre-Ponçon, a lake of light
Enjoy all kinds of water sports and swimming in a seaside atmosphere.
The Hautes-Alpes is home to a seaside in the mountains thanks to the Serre-Ponçon Lake that covers 3000 hectares on the old riverbed of the Durance. As such, this is one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe and it leaves a lasting impression from the very first time you see it. .
The waters sports and activities are perfectly organised here and there are numerous activities on offer for children.
Just next door you can work on your fishing and taking it easy in the town of Embrun, known as the ‘Nice of the Alps’, which opens up its doors to its rich and vibrant architecture.
Whether you want to go sailing, rowing, water skiing, take a ride in boat or relax with the family on a well-kept beach, then anything is possible and you can find out everything there is to do on and around the Serre-Ponçon Lake at www.serre-poncon.com and www.serreponcon-tourisme.com
Built in the middle of the 20th century to protect the Durance valley from the river’s devastating floods and droughts, the Serre-Ponçon dam gave birth to one of the most visited sites in France.
When, in the late 19th century, engineer Ivan Wilhelm proposed a dam to contain the devastating whims of the Durance, few would have predicted that half a century later his project would lead to one of France’s greatest economic success stories. His main concern was sparing the villages in the Durance valley from the river’s devastating floods and droughts. A barrage was devised that would ‘subdue’ its waters and limit the effects of the floods while maintaining the water supply for the irrigation of the Basse Durance, or lower Durance valley. Serre-Ponçon proved to be the ideal site for the dam, although the project required the flooding of the communes of Savines, Ubaye and Rousset, and the relocating of some 1,500 people. The huge building programme started in 1955. Three thousand labourers worked on the site to move 30 million tonnes of alluvia and clay from the Durance riverbed and erect the immense dam. It took six years to build this colossal structure that is 620m wide at its base, 10m wide at its top and over 120m high.
What the instigators of the project could surely not have foreseen was that the construction of the Serre-Ponçon Lake would create two additional attractions: a source of renewable energy and leisure activities. The second largest artificial lake in Europe, the Serre-Ponçon Lake is a reservoir of 1.2 billion m3 of water covering 2,800 hectares and supplying 16 hydroelectric power stations. That is 10% of France’s hydroelectricity generation and 50% of that generated in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur! The dam is also used for irrigation (150,000 hectares cultivated via the Canal de la Durance), and the supply of drinking water and water for industry (the towns of Sisteron, Marseilles and several communes of the département of Var and the coast).
You can explore the story of the dam in more detail at the lake’s Muséoscope, which runs guided tours every day and features a model recreating the construction of the dam (tel: +33 (0)4 92 54 50 00).
The Serre-Ponçon Lake sits at the foot of the Écrins National Park and has also become, down the years, one of the most popular tourist sites in France. With its combination of lively beaches and as yet untouched bays, it attracts large numbers of tourists from France and across the world, who can try a whole host of water sports activities.
There are numerous recreational possibilities in Chorges, Savines, Les Eygoires, Port Saint-Pierre, the Lionnets and Moulettes bays, Embrun and Chadenas: swimming, water skiing, wind surfing and even kite surfing. A whole gamut of sports and leisure pursuits that will delight people who love activity-filled holidays!
