The Hérault waterfalls - short
Bélvedère des cascades de l'Hérault
Bélvedère des cascades de l'Hérault - © R. Descamps
Val-d'Aigoual

The Hérault waterfalls - short

Water and geology
Fauna and flora
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This discovery trail will soon be translated. 

Un sentier à la découverte des premiers kilomètres du fleuve Hérault, avant qu’il ne dévale les pentes abruptes vers la méditerranée.

Depuis la ligne de partage des eaux entre Atlantique et Méditerranée (col de la Serreyrède), ce sentier circule dans la forêt accrochée aux pentes du versant sud du Mont Aigoual. Ponctué d’éclairages variés sur la faune, la flore et la gestion forestière, le parcours progresse vers un spectaculaire belvédère sur les cascades de l’Hérault.

6 points of interest

  • Ligne de partage des eaux
    Ligne de partage des eaux - nathalie.thomas
    Geology

    The watershed

    The current relief creates a frontier between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean: depending on the slope, water runs towards either the Ocean or the Sea. This is due to the uplift of the Cevenol sill, brought about by geological activity along the Cévennes fault, which borders draw the northern limit of the Languedoc region. This natural sill marks the geographical border between the northwest slope – verdant, not too steep – and the southeast slope, which falls away abruptly in the Languedoc and continues to be subject to powerful erosion.
  • La Serreyrède
    La Serreyrède - nathalie.thomas
    Water

    Climate frontier

    The pass is also a climate frontier. The Atlantic side is predominantly exposed to the west wind and receives rainfall that is fairly regularly spread over the year. The Mediterranean side, however, is drier and hotter and constitutes a massive barrier to the occasional southeast wind (the marin), thus forcing its humid air to rise suddenly. This makes the clouds’ water content condense, which can give rise to so-called Cevenol episodes: heavy rainfall (600 mm in 24 hrs) causing catastrophic floods. The Aigoual, Mount Aigualis the rainy (A. Bernard), is well-named! After Savoie, it is the rainiest place in France.
  • Tulipes sauvages
    Tulipes sauvages - Gaël Karczewski
    Natural environment

    Maintaining clearings

  • Les îlots de sénescence
    Les îlots de sénescence - © Valère Marsaudon
    Natural environment

    Senescent stands

  • Erable plane
    Erable plane - Jean-Pierre Malafosse
    Flora

  • © R. Descamps
    Water

    Two waterfalls... Find the Hérault!

    Faced with these two threads of rivers, geographers hesitated between flow rate and length, and finally designated the waterway below you the Hérault while the waterfall opposite you was named the Dauphine. Two remarkable plants can be seen here: orpine (Hylotelephium telephium) with its succulent leaves, a food source for the larvae of a butterfly that is in strong decline all over the Massif central: the Apollo (which may be seen from mid-July to mid-August); and Prost saxifrage, which forms regular cushions that are easy to recognise. They enable it better to store what little water is available. It is a plant endemic to the Cévennes.

Description

Une variante, plus longue, est possible depuis la station de Prat Peyrot.
  • Departure : Maison de l'Aigoual
  • Arrival : Maison de l'Aigoual
  • Towns crossed : Val-d'Aigoual

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

Narrow and craggy path – firm shoes are essential.
Do not leave the path as this environment is unstable and very delicate. Horse-riding or mountain-biking are not allowed on or adapted to discovery trails.

Is in the midst of the park
The national park is an unrestricted natural area but subjected to regulations which must be known by all visitors.

Information desks

Tourism & national parc'house

Col de la Serreyrède, 30570 Val d'Aigoual

https://www.sudcevennes.commaisondelaigoual@sudcevennes.com04 67 82 64 67

The Maison de l'Aigoual houses the tourism office Mont Aigoual Causses Cévennes and the Maison du Parc national. This visitor centre provides information on and raises awareness of the Cévennes National Park, its sites and events as well as the rules that must be observed in the National Park's central zone.

On site: changing exhibitions, video projections, Festival Nature events and shop Open year-round

Find out more

Transport

liO is the regional public transport service of the Occitanie/ Pyrénées – Méditerranée region. It facilitates everyone’s movements by prioritising public transport. For more information, go to www.lio.laregion.fr

Access and parking

Col de la Serreyrède, on the D 986 Camprieu - Valleraugue or on the D 48 from Le Vigan. 

Parking :

Col de la Serreyrède pass

Calculateur d'itinéraire Lio

Utilisez le calculateur liO pour organiser votre trajet en région Occitanie.

Autres régions

Calculez votre itinéraire en Auvergne Rhône Alpes sur Oùra

Source

CC Causses Aigoual Cévennes Terres Solidaireshttp://www.caussesaigoualcevennes.fr/
Parc national des Cévenneshttp://www.cevennes-parcnational.fr/

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