Fontfouillouse
Le château des Plantiers
Le château des Plantiers - N. Thomas
Les Plantiers

Fontfouillouse

Fauna and flora
History and culture
Embed this item to access it offline
Explore the handsome hamlets and villages of this schist valley, and walk the ridge with its high-up views onto Mont Lozère, Fageas mountain and of course Mont Aigoual.
The highpoints of this pretty circuit dotted with abandoned hamlets and bancels (crop terraces) is the magnificent 12th-century church of St-Marcel de Fontfouillouse and the 14th-century keep of Monteils.

3 points of interest

  • Dessin de St-Marcel de Fontfouilhouse en 1963
    Dessin de St-Marcel de Fontfouilhouse en 1963 - Marc Auberlet
    History

    St-Marcel de Fontfouilhouse

    The monks of St-Chaffre, who had settled in Sainte-Enimie in the first half of the 10th century, decided that this site would make a good stopover on their trips between the Causses limestone plateaux and the coast, especially since a large draille (drovers’ road) passed through it. Thus, in the early 12th century, the monks entrusted the building of a church to local stone masons, who used schist and fraidonite as construction materials. The choir was finished in the early 12th century, and a new round of works finished the nave with its pointed barrel vault during the second half of the century. In 1503 two chapels (no longer extant) were added to the north and a bell tower to the south. Set alight during the Camisard rebellion, the church has been the object of conservation efforts by association Les Amis des Cévennes since 1973
  • Pie-grièche écorcheur
    Pie-grièche écorcheur - Descamps Régis
    Fauna

    Look up!

    In the forest, Dartford warblers (black, burgundy belly) accompany your efforts by chirping from the top of broom bushes. You might also come across their cousin, the much more colourful Eastern subalpine warbler (orange belly), or else a Northern wheatear.  
    The ridges are home to two rare bird species, protected in both France and the European Union:  the red-backed shrike and the Eurasian eagle-owl. Other interesting protected species, such as the Eleonora’s falcon and the common rock thrush, may also be observed here.
  • Le hameau de Monteils
    Le hameau de Monteils - Nathalie Thomas
    History

    The keep of Monteils castle

    The castle to which this tower belonged was once part of the La Fare barony. It occupied a platform of about 400 m2; the ditch which used to protect its northwestern side has been filled in. The first three stories of this remarkable rectangular keep, which covers an area of 70 m2 on the ground, remain. They are built out of handsome schist dimension stones and have resisted due to the sturdiness of the thick walls, which are solid stone throughout. An enclosed courtyard once surrounded the keep. The stones from the castle and its surrounding wall were reused to build the hamlet’s houses.

Description

Signposts will guide you all along this route, as well as yellow painted waymarks. In the description below, the signposted place names and/or directions are given in bold italics between quotation marks:

From the car park, start at the signpost “Les Plantiers”.
1) Walk to "Col de Tinquos" via "Auminières" and “Fontfouillouse”.
2) At "Col de Tinquos" continue on the track past the signpost "Aygues Bernesse" to “Col de l’Espinas”.
3) At “Col de l’Espinas” take the path on your left and then on your right and go down to the valley floor to “Faveyrolles”.
4) At “Faveyrolles” walk to “les Plantiers” via “Faveyrolles-Parking” and “Les Monteils”. NB: in Monteils, take the path below the tower and cross the hamlet going downhill towards the tarred road.
5) At “Les Monteils” return to “les Plantiers” via “Auminières”.
  • Departure : Les Plantiers
  • Arrival : Les Plantiers
  • Towns crossed : Les Plantiers and Saint-André-de-Valborgne

Forecast


Altimetric profile


Recommandations

Before committing yourself to a circuit, ensure that it is suitable for your activity level and ability. Remember that the weather changes quickly in the mountains. Take enough water. Please close all gates and barriers behind you.

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

Tourism office Mont Aigoual Causses Cévennes, Saint-André-de-Valborgne

les quais, 30940 Saint-André-de-Valborgne

https://www.sudcevennes.comstandredevalborgne@sudcevennes.com04 66 60 32 11

    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.

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, call 08 10 33 42 73 or go to www.laregion.fr
(in term time).

Access and parking

In St-Jean du Gard, take the D 907 towards St-André de Valborgne. After the village of Saumane, turn left onto the D 20 and continue to the village of Les Plantiers.

Parking :

As you enter the village

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/

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: