Le Viala, Trail #22

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A pleasant excursion on the uplands above Pont-de-Montvert, going west.

3 points of interest

Le four à pain de Viala - nathalie.thomas
Architecture
Bread in Le Viala
The bread oven had a special place in the communal life of the village. Inhabitants provided wood, heated the oven and kneaded balls of dough to bake bread and tarts together.
Moulin de Viala - nathalie.thomas
Architecture
The mill at Le Viala
A granite vault covers the small mill. As with all grain mills, a water intake diverts the stream towards a gourgue (basin). Under the mill, water turned the wheel, which had an axle that turned the grindstone. Inside, the only vestiges are damaged sandstone grindstones.
Jasse - N.Thomas_pnc
Pastoralism
Sheepfolds (jasses)
The top of the slope is covered in granite block fields. A little lower down, the slope is striped with low walls that border paths and close off small parcels of land which used to be farmed. There are 13 jasses built from assembled blocks; these sheepfolds were night shelters for the flocks of sheep from Racoules and Le Viala that stayed on the plateau for the summer.

Description

A short climb to Le Viala on a pleasant forest path. From there on, the slope becomes gentler but you continue uphill to the hamlet of Racoules, which has a beautiful viewpoint onto the upper Tarn valley and the Causse Méjean plateau.
To return to Le Viala, you use a magnificent cobbled path under cover of the chestnut trees.
You finish where you started.

Follow the waymarks for trail #22.
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:

Starting at "Pont-de-Montvert", go to "La Destourbe", “Le Viala”.
From “Le Viala”, do the clockwise loop "Le Viala", "Racoule", "Le Viala".

This trail is taken from the guidebook Mont Lozère – Pays des sources, published by the Pôle de pleine nature du mont Lozère.

Departure : Pont-de-Montvert - Sud-Mont-Lozère
Arrival : Pont-de-Montvert - Sud-Mont-Lozère
Towns crossed : Pont de Montvert - Sud Mont Lozère

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

In high season, parking is difficult in the village: prioritise the suggested car park at the edge of the village.
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. Please close all gates and barriers behind you. Stay on the marked path.

Information desks

Tourism office Coeur de Lozère, Mende

BP 83, place du Foirail, 48000 Mende

https://www.mende-coeur-lozere.fr mendetourisme@ot-mende.com 04 66 94 00 23

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.
Open year-round

Find out more

Office de tourisme Des Cévennes au mont Lozère

le Quai, 48220 Le Pont de Montvert sud mont-Lozère

https://www.cevennes-montlozere.com/info@cevennes-montlozere.com 04 66 45 81 94

Tourism office Mont-Lozère, Bagnols-les-Bains

avenue de la gare, 48190 Bagnols-les-Bains Mont-Lozere et Goulet

https://www.destination-montlozere.fr/contact@destination-montlozere.fr 04 66 47 61 13

Find out more

Access and parking

From Florac, to Pont-de-Montvert - Sud-Mont-Lozère on the D 998.
From Génolhac, to Pont-de-Montvert - Sud-Mont-Lozère on the D 906, then the D 998 via Vialas and La Croix de Berthel.

Parking :

Car park at the Temple (Protestant church)