Contact-us ! Jean VILALLONGUE, a certified canyoning instructor with a state diploma in advanced sports training specializing in canyoning, is a leading canyoning expert in the Pyrénées-Orientales region. First and foremost, he is a canyoner himself.
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, which have been his home since childhood. Passionate about the mountains, he began exploring them at a young age with his mother. He was soon drawn to the vertical world and practiced climbing and mountaineering, venturing as far as the Andes Mountains in Peru and Bolivia. In 1983, he and a fellow speleologist discovered the Catalan canyons. He set his sights on this activity by going to Sant Aniol d’Aguja in Catalonia at the age of 17 (one piton was already in place), a true expedition in those days when you had to equip the route before you could descend.
He opened and helped equip the first canyons in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of Vallespir and became one of the pioneers of this activity. The rest is history! Numerous canyoning trips followed in the French and Spanish Pyrenees and to other destinations: the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the Sierra de Guara, Corsica, the Maritime Alps, Sardinia, and Peru, where, accompanied by a local guide, they opened and equipped a canyon in the Cusco region. All that remained was for him to share his passion and experience by training and obtaining his state mountaineering certification and his state canyoning qualification. Initially responsible for 10 years for the Community Center of the City of Prats de Mollo la Preste, he left in 1998 for Spain to manage a multi-sports company, returning in 2006 he settled as a self-employed worker again in the Pyrénées Orientales.
Having already spent 42 years with his feet in the water in the canyons of several regions of France and Spain, he has specialized since 1988 in the canyons of the southern and northern slopes of the Catalan Pyrenees, in his “Païs” which he saw born, grow up and which he particularly loves.
Still as passionate as ever about the subject, he took over the presidency of GPC66 (Group of Canyon Professionals of the Eastern Pyrenees), where, along with his professional friends and fellow members, he worked to develop a logistical and institutional framework for the activity. This framework aimed to defend the interests of his professional colleagues in the Eastern Pyrenees, as well as to organize canyoning equipment, cleanup, and development projects. He hoped to see this activity included in the development plan for the Canigó Grand Site for future generations, making the region one of Europe’s leading high-quality canyoning destinations and allowing professionals to work in optimal conditions. Unfortunately, this institutional project never came to fruition. Since 2025, he has been part of the Vallespir Canyon Guides Group, where he strives to ensure the continued viability of the activity for local guides in Vallespir while patiently awaiting his 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. Freeing a boulder wedged in the Gourg des Anelles waterfall in Céret – an operation organized by GPC66. In the end, the boulder was freed and our two companions got a good ear cleaning…
In catalan “El foc es pot a tura, l’aigua cal que passi !…”
You can put out a fire, but water has to flow!
