Aubrac
Land of basalt with wide plateaux and extinct volcanoes
The Aubrac is a
vast mountain prairie of basalt fed by rivers
and lakes. Its landscape punctuated by shepherds’ huts and
pastures enclosed by stone walls is a gentle one bathed in
wonderful light.
This is a land
of traditions perpetuated by its people with
warmth and friendliness, a land of good food where they breed
the Aubrac race of cattle whose milk is used to make tomme
cheese, the basis of the famous aligot.
La Margeride
Land of
granite
La Margeride
spreads out its grasslands, fast-flowing rivers
and deep forest in undulating uplands of medium altitude. Set
atop of this immensity like strange herds of livestock are
round and oval blocks of granite polished by the aeons.
This is a land
of quiet, a haven of peace in a natural setting of greenery,
beautiful forests and bright waters.
Gorges of the Tarn and the Jonte, Grands Causses and the
valley of the Lot
Land of
limestone
The gorges of
the Tarn and the Jonte bite deeply into the
Grands Causses (plateaux) of Sauveterre and Méjean to form a
magnificent landscape of international renown, while further
to the north the valley of the Lot, near to its source,
separates the Causse of Sauveterre from the Aubrac and La
Margeride. Here may still be found many remains of a rich and
prestigious past.
The singular
architecture of the causses, the astonishing rock faces carved
out like ruined villages and the vast lands with their flocks
of sheep are a peaceful incitement to ramblers and nature
lovers.
The Cévennes and Mont-Lozère
Land of
shale and granite
South of the
Lozère are the Cévennes, protected by National
Park status, rising above the plains of the Languedoc and the
Mediterranean. The Cévennes is a maze of deep valleys with
winding rivers of clear waters and hill slopes covered in
forests of sweet chestnut along with the mulberry which was
planted in days gone by for feeding the silkworms bred in the
mills called magnaneries.
A country of
rebellion and tradition, the Cévennes gradually reveals a bit
more of itself at each bend in its winding roads or on a path
where it is pleasant to stroll.
Credits
: www.lozere-tourisme.com
