For easy walks for all the family, take the sentiers de decouverte, Interpretative Trails, which explore subjects like local heritage, geology or botany and seek out menhirs and birds.

Or set off on one of the many 2-3 day circuits along sheer gorges where soaring vultures will make your heart sing. The park has more than 5000 km of paths of all lengths and boasts 300 one-day hikes where spectacular views of the Mediterranean plains are easy to get from Mount Lozère or Mount Aigoual. You’ll be hypnotized by the sight of hundreds of sheep running through villages, wearing red pom-poms, accompanied by music and lots of good food.Ĭévennes National Park has incredible hikes for every fitness level © Westend61 / Getty Images Hike through wilderness and history This is one of the last places where shepherds still drive their animals on foot (rather than in trucks) along drailles, ancestral paths that run through the park. Between June and September, a wide range of other farms open their gates to visitors.ĭon’t miss the transhumance, the seasonal movement of animals between summer and winter pastures, in early June in Espérou. Be part of this by rounding up goats, helping with milking, and making cheese at one of the oldest eco-museums in France and the Farm des Cévennes. The 3000-year-old agro-pastoralism tradition is what got the park its Unesco status as an example of a living and evolving cultural landscape. The combination of goat bells chiming from steep slopes and darting sheep dogs cleverly doing their work with Cévenol farmers makes you feel linked to hundreds of past generations. Experience the rhythm of ancient farming life

Immerse yourself in the best experiences the world has to offer with our email newsletter delivered weekly into your inbox. Incredible experiences await you at Cévennes National Park – here's how to get there and what to do when you arrive.

Hike to revel in its landscapes and wildlife, visit its museums to bear witness to poignant battles for religious freedom, and stand still in time seeing farmers and their goats working with the harsh nature as they have for thousands of years.Īnd at day’s end, wander through chestnut forests to listen for the 'phantom of the forests' under the expanse of stars in Europe’s biggest dark sky reserve. Whirling eagles and vultures, sheer limestone gorges, vast steppe grasslands of raw beauty where endangered Przewalski’s horses, straight out of prehistoric cave paintings, and slinking gray shapes of wolves, take refuge – it’s hard to believe this true wilderness is comfortably in reach of the coast and cities of Southern France.įor people who want to see the wild parts of France without having to go into the high mountains, head towards Florac in the heart of the Cévennes National Park.

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