Hiking adventure in Mont Lozère in the Cévennes

A hike to discover the Bramont stream, which rises on Mont Lozère, at the foot of the Roc des Laubies. After a short journey up the mountain, it tumbles down the granite escarpment, carving a sharp valley that then opens up into the marl of the Valdonnez. Mule tracks once connected the mountain villages to those in the valley.

Also worth discovering is the Bondons site, a vast remnant of the sedimentary terrain that once completely covered the granites and schists of the Cévennes. These long limestone ridges of Bondons are the most important megalithic complex in the region: more than 150 menhirs, fallen over time, and 4 dolmens.

A hike to discover the Causse du Masseguin. A harsh and challenging environment, where timber and rainwater are precious resources, led the inhabitants of the Causse to create a distinctive architecture. Based on the use of the only available material, limestone, which is omnipresent in the buildings, it employs a vaulted construction method. On the Causses, one finds "chazelles," simple stone buildings made of slate, shepherds' shelters along sheep routes. There are also many clapas and low walls. These are stones extracted from the fields and assembled into piles or walls. The hike also includes the Loubière forest, one of the most beautiful fir forests in the Cévennes, where the silver fir, rare in its natural state, has been widely cultivated by foresters.

A hike to discover the Château du Tournel, which housed the Barony of Tournel from the 12th century onwards. This schist citadel, of which only ruins remain today, perched above the Lot River, seemed impregnable. At the foot of the stone walls and towers overlooking the upper valley lies the old hamlet of Tournel. The castle was abandoned in the 17th century after the destruction of part of its fortifications, ordered by Richelieu. Also explore the village of Saint Julien du Tournel and its 12th-13th century Romanesque church.

A hike to discover the Tarn River, which rises in a valley, in a network of peat bogs that ensure a significant flow for the river from its very first kilometer. At its source, the Tarn is a cold stream with pure, acidic, and low-mineral waters. Also discover the Mas Camargues farm, an ecomuseum of Mont Lozère, and the Templar territory. The trails and forests at the summit of Mont Lozère belonged until 1795 to the Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, who had established the Gap Francès commandery in the hamlet of L'Hôpital. Their property was marked by standing stones bearing the Maltese cross, the emblem of the Order.

A hike to discover the summit of Finiels, the highest point of Mont Lozère. The high summer pastures of Lozère have long formed a sufficient barrier to limit economic and cultural contact between the northern and southern slopes. The ridge separates the Protestant Cévennes from the Catholic Margeride. On a clear day, one can discover a panorama stretching from the Alps to the Mediterranean. The hike follows the GR 70, the route taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and his donkey Modestine during his Travels with a Donkey across the Cévennes in the 19th century, as well as the Route des Chômeurs (Unemployment Road), built in the 1930s by workers. The path is also marked by numerous "montjoies," standing stones erected by the Hospitaller monks to mark the paths and their vast property. Some of these stones even bear engraved Maltese crosses.

End of stay after breakfast.