Cévennes between heaven and stone

The Cévennes is above all rock. From the work of men to the architecture of their houses, all the landscapes in the Cévennes are dominated by rock. But all it takes is a turn in the road, the time it takes a doe to disappear into the undergrowth, a griffon vulture to swoop into the sky, for stone to change its nature and, by doing so the face of the mountains and villages. The play of geological accidents is to blame: faults, cold white water, erosion, etc., the complex memory of the dawn of time. Granite, limestone and schist dominate, each in its own territory.

Mont Lozère with its granite which makes for beautiful, solid houses, streams in the peat bogs, waterfalls under the beech trees and fresh pastures for migrant or sedentary herds. Hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers looking for large open spaces with bluish horizons will never be let down.

On the high limestone plateaux of the Causses, the houses all have built arches, from the ceiling to the attic. The rivers cut deep gorges, the sheep graze on the steppe magnified by the rocky chaos sculpted by the waters of a Jurassic sea. Walking through the botanic splendours, one can explore other marvels deep underground: the sinkholes.

Further to the south, the valleys are more schistose and the old isolated farmhouses whose stone is taken from the same rock are often renovated and set up as holiday accommodation. A terraced landscape surrounds them, containing (organic) plantations of berries, sweet onions and kitchen gardens. On the sides of the mountains, the traveller will pass near a castle which still contains a bit of history, a remote hamlet where life hangs on near the chestnut groves. The journey continues along mule tracks, among the rocks, in the footsteps of camisards, maquisards, shepherds who left the cairns: boundaries of stacked stones. From there the twists and turns of the path lead to sublime ridges with stony driveways.

Mont Aigoual combines the three types of rocks on its slopes. The undergrowth of the forests that cover it are decorated with thousands of moss-covered rocks, its cliffs are home to golden eagles and peregrine falcons.

This rock does not make the peasants' lives easy, but they have boldly adapted and today offer many products of the land scented with plants that grow between stone and sky. goat's or sheep's cheese, pâté with porcini, onion preserve, flower syrups, fruit syrups, apple juice, chestnut juice, etc. While the traditional artisan cuts the lauze or the granite and rebuilds dry stone walls, the storyteller tells the legend of Gargantua emptying the stones from his shoes. What about visitors? They can hike around the Cévennes, on foot or by donkey, in the combined beauty of wild flowers, rocks and an immense sky.

B. Matthieu

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• The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism
• The commitment of the Natural Parks of the Massif Central