The Tour of the Knights Templar and Hospitaller
LA COUVERTOIRADE , Aveyron – Itinéraire
In the far south of the Aveyron département, near Millau Viaduct, explore the vast, wild horizons of the Larzac. In this area, today designated a World Heritage Site, you will discover a collection of ancient cities built by the legendary Knights Templar and Hospitaller.
Setting out from the village of La Couvertoirade, you are surrounded by the fascinating history of the Knights Templar and Hospitaller who shaped the limestone plateau that is the Causse du Larzac. Along the way you will follow in turn grassy paths, little roads and well-worn trails lined with boxwood hedges or low walls.
This tour of the Larzac takes you from one Templar and Hospitaller city to the next. Towering ahead of you, you will see the walls of Sainte Eulalie de Cernon, La Cavalerie, Saint-Jean d’Alcas and Le Viala du Pas de Jaux.
These ancient towns and fortresses make up an exceptional heritage that is remarkably well preserved. They were built in the 12th century by the Knights Templar then fortified in the 15th century and run until the 18th century by the Knights Hospitaller, who took over from their Templar ‘cousins’ after the abolition of the Order of the Temple.
In the heart of the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park
The unspoilt, intact and magnificent countryside of the Larzac forms the backdrop of your walk. The crowning glory of the ‘Causses and Cévennes’area listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2011, the Larzac is also one of the wonders of Grands Causses Regional Nature Park.
The stunning scenery, short grasses and amazing flora combine to wonderful effect with the fascinating local heritage of dolmens, Romanesque chapels, old wash houses and lavognes (watering holes), farmhouses and sheepfolds built entirely of limestone, old fortified houses and more…
Millau Viaduct, the Templar and Hospitaller cities of the Larzac, the Roquefort cheese cellars and Sylvanès Abbey are all Great Tourist Sites in Midi-Pyrénées.
