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LocationJean Vilallongue, Canyoning Instructor, State-certified in advanced sports training (specializing in canyoning).
Your guide is a leading specialist in canyoning in the Pyrénées-Orientales, as he is, first and foremost, a canyoner himself.Votre Guide est un des grands spécialistes du canyoning dans les Pyrénées Orientales, puis qu’avant tout il est un canyoniste.
Born in Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste in the Pyrénées-Orientales on February 8, 1966, he divides his time between his village, his travels, his work, and the mountains—his home since early childhood.
Passionate about this world, he began exploring the mountains at a very young age with his mother; soon drawn to the vertical realm, he took up rock climbing and mountaineering, eventually traveling as far as the Andes in Peru and Bolivia.
In 1983, alongside a fellow caver, he discovered the canyons of Catalonia. He set his sights on this activity after visiting Sant Aniol d’Aguja in Catalonia at the age of 17 (where only a single piton was in place)—a true expedition in those days, requiring the installation of anchors before the descent could even begin.
He pioneered and helped equip the first canyons in the Vallespir area of the Pyrénées-Orientales—such as Gourg des Anelles, Salt de Maria Valenta, Terme Supérieur, Comelada, Tech, and Brescany—becoming a trailblazer in the sport.
The rest followed naturally…
He undertook numerous canyoning trips across the French-Spanish Pyrenees and to other destinations: the Balearic and Canary Islands, Sierra de Guara, Corsica, the Maritime Alps, and Peru, where he and a local guide opened and equipped a canyon in the Cusco region. The next logical step was to share his passion and experience; he underwent training to obtain his State Certification in mountaineering and his State Qualification and Diploma in canyoning. After serving for ten years as the manager of the Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste municipal recreation center, he moved to Spain in 1998 to manage a multi-sports company; since 2006, he has been back in the Pyrénées-Orientales, working as a self-employed professional.
With 43 Having already spent years wading through the canyons of various regions in France and Spain, since 1988 he has specialized in the canyons on the southern and northern slopes of the Catalan Pyrenees—the “Païs” where he was born and raised, and for which he holds a special affection.
Still deeply passionate about the subject, he assumed the presidency of the GPC66 (Group of Canyoning Professionals of the Pyrénées-Orientales). There, alongside fellow professionals in the organization, he strove to establish a logistical and institutional framework for the activity—defending the interests of his peers in the region and organizing initiatives to equip, clean up, and develop canyoning sites. He hoped to see the activity integrated into the “Grand Site Canigó” development plan for future generations, aiming to turn the region into a premier European destination for high-quality canyoning while ensuring good working conditions for professionals. Unfortunately, this institutional project never came to fruition; he left the organization in 2024, disillusioned by the increasingly commercial direction the activity was taking. Since 2025, he has joined forces with fellow guides in the Vallespir area within the *Groupement des Guides Canyons du Vallespir*, striving to ensure the long-term viability of the activity for local guides as he quietly awaits his imminent retirement.
The + of Inextremis Aventura
His primary concern during the activity is safety, so the rules are very clear and mandatory; it’s his role and his job.
He knows the canyoning locations like the back of his hand, having been involved since 1988 and spending a third of his year there.
He’s a friendly, cheerful, helpful, and attentive person who will share his passion for canyoning with you, but be careful not to step on his toes—he’s a mountain man!
92% of our clients use our company again when they return to canyoning in the Pyrénées-Orientales, undoubtedly due to the quality of his instruction and expertise.
Jean Vilallongue and Arnaud Simon—two seasoned professionals—in action. Preparing for the season by checking equipment in the canyons. Clearing a rock wedged in the Gourg des Anelles waterfall in Céret. In the end, the rock was dislodged, and our two companions got their ears thoroughly washed…
In catalan “El foc es pot a tura, l’aigua cal que passi !…”
You can put out a fire, but water has to flow!
