Causses and Cévennes

Causse Méjean

Chevaux de Prezwalski Causse Méjean

Vers le Mont Lozère, Greg Alric / OT Millau Grands Causses

More than 3,000 km2 to explore, in 4 departments: Lozère, Hérault, Gard and Aveyron. The Causses and the Cévennes, a sanctuary of agro-pastoralism unique in Mediterranean Europe, are one of the largest properties listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.

Very different territories, united by the will of men

At the southern tip of the Massif Central, the Causses and Cévennes are a privileged destination for nature tourism, which deserve their reputation for excellence.

Their natural and human resources, which are exceptional, will be revealed to you in the various complexes that compose it: the immensity of the limestone plateaus of the Causses, the Cévennes mountains and the Gorges of the Tarn and the Jonte Rivers. Beyond the beauty of these thousand-year-old landscapes, the Causses and Cévennes have been distinguished by UNESCO as “a cultural, evolving and living landscape, typical of Mediterranean agro-pastoralism”.

Causse Méjean, Lozère

Did you know?

Why the UNESCO classification? UNESCO decided to include this property on the basis of criteria (iii) and (v) because the Causses and Cévennes bear unique testimony to a cultural tradition: Mediterranean agro-pastoralism. The agro-pastoral tradition is still alive and has been revitalised in recent decades.

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Natural Parks and Major Sites that are not to be missed

Between the Massif Central and the Mediterranean, by way of the Aigoual mountain range, discover :

Cévennes National Park : a destination for getting away from it all in a particularly beautiful, unspoiled natural environment.
The Grands Causses Regional Nature Park: it extends from the town of Millau and hosts in particular the Templar and Hospitaller citadels of Larzac: La Couvertoirade, Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, La Cavalerie, etc.
The Gorges of the Tarn and the Jonte Rivers: shared by the Departments of Aveyron and Lozère, they are spectacular and cut into the limestone plateaus of the Causse de Sauveterre, the Causse Méjean and the Causse Noir.
The Gorges of the Hérault River: they are very popular for canoe trips.
The Cirque de Navacelles: in the middle of the Gorges of the Vis River, an impressive geological curiosity that is also a Grand Site de France.
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert: a major stage on the routes of the Way of Saint James.

Les gorges du Tarn © G.Deschamps / CRTL Occitanie

Discover landscapes shaped by pastoralism

On the limestone plateaus (causses) and the mountains braided with deep valleys, the herders and their families are at work. The lawns are maintained by the herds. The watering holes, the sheepfolds and the cellars are still in use. The farms are inhabited and have been restored, using local materials (schist, granite, limestone and wood) and traditional construction techniques. The same “drailles”, cattle tracks lined with stone walls, have been used for centuries for the transhumance of the herds.

At the same time, the exceptional heritage left by the great human adventures of the Middle Ages (pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Templars and the crusades in the Holy Land) is valued and protected.

Cévennes, @CRTL OCCITANIE

Useful information

To find out more about the territory of the Causses and Cévennes, the nature activities to be practiced, the gastronomic products, the heritage, the itineraries, the unmissable sites, the accommodation, etc

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Rencontre avec les brebis sur le Causse Méjean, Marie Zinzoline

On the road to fabulous travels

"Of sheep and men"

3 experiences in 3 different places on the Causse Méjean. I touched, watched, tasted and felt. By the end, I felt like I knew the Causse spirit.

On the Méjean plateau