The Causse Méjean circuit, GR de Pays
Vallée de La Jonte
Vallée de La Jonte - nathalie.thomas
Meyrueis

The Causse Méjean circuit, GR de Pays

Agriculture and livestock farming
Embed this item to access it offline
This circuit will awaken all your senses with its steppe-like landscape resembling Mongolia, its fantastically shaped dolomite rock, its flora that is at once Mediterranean and montane, and its reintroduced vultures.
Here is scenery to leave a lasting impression. The austere-seeming plateau will surprise you by its human, scenic and natural diversity! Be prepared to listen; take the time to contemplate. You will be re-energised. Here, the horizon is far off.

12 points of interest

  • Terrasses sur Meyrueis
    Terrasses sur Meyrueis - © Nathalie Thomas
    Agriculture

    Terrace

    Throughout the climb, you will see abandoned former crop terraces. A few grapevines have persisted since local wine-growing came to an end. They bear witness to the fact that the slopes around these hamlets and villages were once cultivated and planted with fruit trees and vines. Terraces like these were the only way for the valley's inhabitants to have flat areas with deep soil suitable for growing.

  • Hyelzas
    Hyelzas - nathalie.thomas
    History

    Hyelzas

    In the hamlet of Hyelzas, a typical Causse plateau farm has been recreated down to the last detail. It consists of several buildings made from the local material: limestone. Visitors will learn how the traditional life of inhabitants of the Causse Méjean was organised in the 19th century. Their activities followed the rhythm of the seasons. 
  • Grotte de l'homme mort
    Grotte de l'homme mort - Nathalie Thomas
    History

    L'Homme-Mort (Dead Man’s) Cave

    In 1867 Dr Barthélémy Prunières and Prof Paul Broca discovered some 50 human skeletons from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age (2,200 to 1,800 BC) in this cavity with its almost round entrance. It was the first ever discovery in France of skulls bearing signs of trepanning-style lesions that were in the process of scarring over. Trepanning was carried out using a flint drill. The surgeon operated rather brutally to begin with, but once the cancellous bone had been penetrated, he seems to have drilled into the internal table of the skull bone more carefully. The individuals treated in this way were normally adults.
    In some cases, where the skull had previously been staved in, the purpose was probably to relieve the injury.
  • Le vautour moine
    Le vautour moine - nathalie.thomas
    Fauna

    Vultures

    You are close to the historic site where the griffon vulture was reintroduced from 1982 onwards. Since then, the cinereous vulture (1992) and the bearded vulture (2012) have also been reintroduced. The Egyptian vulture returned of its own accord in 1986. It nested locally in 1997, but it remains rare and very localised in this region. In the Mediterranean basin, the presence of vultures is associated with sheep farming and herd mortality.
  • Les corniches de la Jonte
    Les corniches de la Jonte - nathalie.thomas
    Landscape

    Balcon du vertige (vertigo balcony)

    This site, almost 400m above the bed of the Jonte, deserves it name. It is the only spot on the walk from which you have such breathtaking views over the gorge. Opposite you is the Causse Noir, with a heavily fissured rock in the foreground, the Ranc del Pater, on which remain some wall sections of Saint Michael’s hermitage (former château of Montorsier). The tall rectangular cliff on its right is known as Roc Fabié. If you lean forwards, you can see, from upstream to downstream, La Caze and Le Truel hamlets, and below you the Maison des Vautours (vulture belvedere), which was opened in 1998 and traces the local history of vultures. 
  • Agriculture

    Capluc and its terraces

    As you leave Capluc, you become aware of how the site, which at first sight seems barren, has in fact been shaped by humans. All of this south-facing slope, which is protected by the tall dolomite cliffs, was farmed using terraces (grains, fruit trees, grapevines). Temperatures are so favourable that the most southern Mediterranean vegetation of the region grows here (narrow-leaved ash, jasmine, Montpellier maple, holm oak, etc.). 
  • Capluc
    Capluc - nathalie.thomas
    History

    Capluc

    Capluc was once a defensive and surveillance site, with a castle that (like many of the village’s houses) no longer exists. Some of the houses were renovated once a track suitable for motor vehicles was opened to the hamlet. The name Capluc is believed to come from cap and luz, meaning head and light, thus symbolising the place illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun. 
  • Rougequeue noir
    Rougequeue noir - © Chantal Daquo
    Fauna

    Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros)

    A hyperactive on its perch. With its long pointed wings, it flutters very rapidly, swallowing insects in the process. It has difficulty hiding its agitation as it perches in well-exposed places, rapidly flexing its legs and moving its tail as if it has the hiccups.
  • Architecture de Rieisse
    Architecture de Rieisse - © Nathalie Thomas
    Architecture

    Rieisse

    "On the square in the hamlet of Rieisse, you'll be able to admire a communal oven. The gable of the house right next to it has gutters which lead into a former cistern inside. All the rainwater from the roof converged on this tank, inside the kitchen, via gutters that were made first of wood and later of zinc. The cistern has a depth of 2 to 5 m and a capacity of 10,000 to 30,000 litres. When the foundations of the sheepfold were dug, Roman pottery for keeping resin was found. Indeed, whenever pine trees were felled, the resin was extracted and sent to the coast, where it was used to caulk boats. (M.P Leroy-Delmer)

  • La vallée de Carnac
    La vallée de Carnac - nathalie.thomas
    Archaeology

    The White Lady of Anilhac

    The valley of Carnac is one of the most fertile on the Causse. The relatively deep soils and numerous wells (17 in Caussignac) have attracted over a third of the plateau’s population. Its tumuli (individual tombs) have been excavated; one is believed to date from the Iron Age. Next to some carbonised bones, a large quantity of jewels was found here, which proved both the gender and the social status of the buried person. She has been nicknamed the White Lady of Anilhac.
  • La croix du Buffre
    La croix du Buffre - nathalie.thomas
    History

    Le Buffre cross

    This is one of the oldest and most handsome crosses in Lozère. On its cylindrical pedestal (12th c.), which is set on three steps, two persons face each other on either side of a holy water basin representing a human face. The basin is carved into the pedestal and also projects from it. The more recent actual cross is believed to date from the 18th century. Le Buffre cross is one of many that dot the Saint Guilhem route, to both guide and encourage pilgrims. 






  • L'église de Hures
    L'église de Hures - nathalie.thomas
    Architecture

    The church of Hures

    The church was founded in the 11th century by the Benedictine monks of Sainte-Enimie to expand their arable land. It was built in four stages:
    - The choir in the early and the nave in the late 12th century,
    - the right-hand chapel in the 14th century,
    - the left-hand chapel in the 18th century.
    Each enlargement of the building corresponded to an increase in the Causse population. The nave has a beautiful window. To the right of the entrance is a funereal recess, which probably belonged to a local dignitary and in which were deposited a number of bones removed from the buried body.

Description

This GR® [long-distance hiking path] offers 5 days of hiking departing from Meyrueis:

1) Meyrueis - Hyelzas: 13.8 km
2) Hyelzas - Le Rozier:17.4 km
3) Le Rozier - Les Vignes: 11.5 km
4) Les Vignes - Mas St Chély: 15.5 km
5) Mas St Chély - Meyrueis: 5 ½ hrs / 21 km

 As a variant, you can also pass through Rieïsses to reach La Viale.

All information on this itinerary in its totality can be found on the site monGR.fr of the French hikers’ federation, the Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre. Map ref. IGN 2640 OT
  • Departure : Meyrueis
  • Arrival : Meyrueis
  • Towns crossed : Meyrueis, Hures-la-Parade, Saint-Pierre-des-Tripiers, Le Rozier, Massegros Causses Gorges, La Malène, and Mas-Saint-Chély

Forecast


Altimetric profile


Recommandations

NB: The section along the edge of the Causses between Cassagnes and Le Rozier is vertiginous.

For various reasons, the waymarked path may differ from that shown in the topographic guidebook: please follow the waymarks on the trail. Make sure your equipment is appropriate for several days of hiking as well as the day’s weather conditions. Remember that the weather changes quickly in the mountains. Take enough water, wear sturdy shoes and put on a hat. Please close all gates and barriers behind you. Bivouacking in the National Park’s central zone is regulated and, on some stretches, prohibited.
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'house and national Parc at Florac

Place de l'ancienne gare, N106, 48400 Florac-trois-rivières

https://www.cevennes-gorges-du-tarn.cominfo@cevennes-parcnational.fr04 66 45 01 14

This office is part of the National Park's associated tourist-information network, whose mission is to provide information on, and raise awareness of, the sites and events as well as the rules that must be observed in the National Park's central zone.

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

Find out more

Transport

Bus
  • Line 215 Millau - Le Rozier - Meyrueis
  • Line 258 Le Rozier - Florac
https://lio.laregion.fr/

Access and parking

Parking :

Meyrueis

Calculateur d'itinéraire Lio

Pour information, certaines lignes de la région circulent uniquement en période estivale. Calculez votre itinéraire avec les horaires actualisés ci-dessous :

Autres régions

Calculez votre itinéraire en Auvergne Rhone Alpes sur Oùra


Source

Agence d'Attractivité Touristique Gorges Causses Cévenneshttp://www.cevennes-gorges-du-tarn.com
Comité départemental de la randonnée pédestre 48http://lozere.ffrandonnee.fr/
Fédération française de la randonnée pédestrehttps://www.ffrandonnee.fr/

Report a problem or an error

If you have found an error on this page or if you have noticed any problems during your hike, please report them to us here: