Cévennes National Park
Cévennes National Park (French: Parc national des Cévennes) is a French national park protecting alpine environments in the departments of Lozère, Gard, Ardèche and Aveyron in Occitanie, France. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape.
Understand
Flora and fauna
The park has an extremely diverse range of fauna with more than 2,400 species having been listed including Mediterranean, continental and alpine species with other wildlife that can be found in forests, steppes, and fauna on rocks or on wetlands.
There have also been more than 2,250 species of flowering plants have been identified in the national park, which represents 40% of French flora, on only 0.5% of the area of France.
Park website
- Official park website (in French)
Get in
From Alès, take the N 106 north-west into Cévennes National Park.
Get around
See
- 🌍 Gorges de la Jonte. These gorges were shaped by the Jonte which has its source in the Aigoual massif, at an altitude of 1440 m, and flows into the Tarn at the town of Rozier. The gorges form a real canyon. It can be seen by the many hiking trails starting from Rozier or the Causse Méjean overlook them and allow you to visit the many curiosities that line the gorges such as the balcony of Vertige, the vase of Sèvre, the vase of China or the Terraces.
- 🌍 Aven Armand. A cave that is known for the tallest known stalagmite of 30 metres.
- 🌍 Arboretum de Cazebonne. A 4-hectare arboretum created in 1903 as an experimental station for testing the introduction of exotic trees.
- 🌍 (near Blandas). An amazing cirque where the road almost unbelievably descends to a tiny village.
Do
- 🌍 Prat Peyrot. A ski resort in the park.
Mount Aigoual
Mount Aigual is one of the mountains in Cévennes National Park.
One of the most famous hikes on Mount Aigoual is the climb of the 4,000 steps, which starts from Valleraugue to reach the observatory at an altitude of 1,567 metres and more than 1,200 m in elevation change. A stopover lodge and a snack bar managed by the municipality of Valleraugue welcome hikers and tourists from May to November.
Apart from hiking, the mountain is also known for cycling. It can be climbed by many slopes, due to the number of roads that converge in various places on the sides of the climb. The two steepest slopes are the one starting from L'Arboux or the Taleyrac valley via the Col de la Lusette (the latter being 17 kilometres at 6.6% on average), and that of Saint-André-de-Valborgne passing through the Salidès pass and the Seixt valley but the Valleraugue slope, not very steep but very long (28 kilometres at 4.3%) is the most popular route taken.
Eat
- 🌍 Le Phenix, Col de Jalcreste, ☏ +33 4 66 32 46 03.
Sleep
Lodging
- 🌍 Gite la Roquette, La Roquette, Molezon, ☏ +33 4 66 32 35 89. Check-in: 17:00, check-out: 10:00.