Sarras lies on the Ardèche bank of the Rhône, opposite Saint-Vallier, where the valley narrows between steep granite slopes. Behind the village, the river Ay comes tumbling out of the Ardèche hills through a deep, wooded gorge, and that gorge is the reason to be here.
The road up the valley of the Ay towards Satillieu and Lalouvesc is one of the finest in the northern Ardèche. It climbs steadily through the gorge, with the river rushing below, then emerges onto the high plateau, where the views open up over a sea of wooded hills. Above the river, perched on a rocky spur near Saint-Romain-d'Ay, stands the sanctuary of Notre-Dame d'Ay, a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages, with a chapel and a castle ruin overlooking the gorge.
This is the Ardèche Verte, the green northern part of the department, very different from the limestone gorges of the south. The rock here is granite, the forests are of chestnut, pine and beech, and the villages are built of dark stone. Lalouvesc, at the top of the climb, is a pilgrimage town dedicated to Saint John Francis Regis, with a large basilica.
The roads are winding and often narrow, with plenty of bends, steep gradients in places and surfaces that range from good to rough. Traffic is light. Fuel and food are available in Sarras and Saint-Vallier, and in Satillieu and Lalouvesc higher up. As a high point, the plateau above the gorge offers views across the Rhône valley to the Alps on clear days.