The Roya is a cross-border river: it rises at the Col de Tende on the French side of the Mercantour, runs south through Tende, Saorge and Breil-sur-Roya, then crosses into Italy and reaches the Mediterranean at Ventimiglia. The French section is about forty kilometres of classic high-altitude trout water — granite bedrock, fast pocket water, small wild brown trout, the whole thing hemmed in by the Mercantour peaks on one side and the Ligurian Alps on the other. Storm Alex in October 2020 hit the Roya valley almost as hard as the Vésubie. The main road between France and Italy was destroyed for months; villages were isolated; the river's course was reshaped in several reaches. Reconstruction is well advanced but the valley still carries the memory. For the angler, the fishing is back — the upper reaches above Saorge recovered quickly and the trout are once again holding in the pocket water where they always held. Late May onwards, short rod, and the same respect you would give any river that has been through something serious. The cross-border status adds a small administrative wrinkle: fish the French side with the French carte and remember that Italy is only a few kilometres downstream.
- Granite
