Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Park
Landscapes Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Park
A territory anchored to the south of the Massif Central, Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Park offers a complex mosaic of landscapes and identities over 260,000 hectares.
This scenic wealth is the result of a combination of climatic factors –meeting point between the two Midi regions–, lithographic factors (limestone rock, siliceous rock, etc.), exposure and altitude plus the occupation of land and man-made factors.
Despite all this variety, one can find common features throughout the entire region, in particular:
predominance of forests (from the holm oak to the mountain beech, not to mention the chestnut or the spruce) which covers more than 2/3 of the territory, making Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Park the second most wooded Park in France,
predominance of the rural character, which can be seen in most of the territory with the exception of the built-up sector of Mazamet - Aussillon - Labruguière, with marked urban landscapes,
the fact that most of the territory belongs to the middle mountain with altitudes ranging from 150 metres to over 1,000 metres in the Monts de Lacaune or the Montagne Noire.
However, the main differentiating feature of the Haut-Languedoc landscapes is their variety. In fact, Haut-Languedoc Natural Regional Park offers a striking contrast of colours and scenic environments.
The Haut-Languedoc can therefore be said to have 18 different types of landscape: beech forests of the Montagne Noire, hedged farmland of the Monts de Lacaune, rocky rivers of Sidobre, limestone plateaux, vineyards and scrubland of Faugérois and Minervois, etc.; not to mention the exceptional views from the Massif du Caroux.
