Prat-Peyrot - Road bike circuit #6
You are cycling around Mont Aigoual, “the belly button of France”!
There are 360° views throughout, and substantial elevation gains, but also rewards in every bend and at every pass. And you will be able to say: I’ve done it !
9 points of interest
La Serreyrède - nathalie.thomas 
WaterClimate 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.
Ligne de partage des eaux - nathalie.thomas 
GeologyThe 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.
Le village de St André de Valborgne - Béatrice Galzin 
ArchitectureThe village of St André de Valborgne
As you stroll along the quay above the river, you can still see the handsome bourgeois houses dating from the silk boom. If you look around, former spinning mills and industrial buildings dedicated to silk farming can still be seen in the landscape. A little lower down, opposite the 16th century château, you can listen to
Bernadette Lafont on the Camisard saga in and after 1702. As you reach the square again, quench your thirst at the fountain and have a look inside the Romanesque church (12th century).
© Béatrice Galzin WaterOne spring, five fountains
This fountain is one of Saint-André’s five public fountains, all of which are supplied by the same spring (its water is thus the same as in the Fontaine du Griffon). Before houses were connected to mains water, there were many more fountains on this side of the quay.
Tempus fugit (Fiona Paterson, Donald Buglass) - © Natacha Maltaverne 
HistoryTempus Fugit (Fiona Paterson, Donald Buglass)
Time flies, conscience cries, death threatens, heaven invites, hell scolds, and man sleeps. Here, the effects of time and natural elements transform the wood used in the artwork; everything is an endless renewal at the same rate as the passing hours. How much time have we got left before everything is lost and it is too late to repair the damage? Nature will continue on its trajectory and efface the traces of Humanity on Earth.
Cellule (Marie Gueydon de Dives) - © Filature du Mazel 
LandscapeCell (Marie Gueydon de Dives)
This artwork, natural in architecture but artificial in execution, represents a passage between the interior and exterior worlds. Posing or opposing while questioning the notions of limit, porousness and opening.
This work encourages you to come inside but feel outside. To be the contemplative eye, the receiving ear, the conscience that objectifies reality.
Vue depuis Font de Trépaloup - nathalie.thomas 
FloraThe evolution of plant life
At the pass stands a schist menhir (standing stone). To the north, in Trépaloup ravine, hewn flint implements bear witness to a human presence in the region since prehistoric times. Palynological analyses (studies of pollen fossilised in peatbogs) have allowed scientists to piece together the plant life on Mont Aigoual from 8,000 to 5,000 BC. Pine predominated, accompanied by birch and hazelnut. Then pine populations gradually diminished. The damp climate warmed up, favouring the spread of oak and hazelnut. Finally, the increased damp and cloud cover at altitude allowed fir and beech to develop. From the end of the first century BC, the substantial percentage of grasses shows that forest had receded in favour of pasture and prairies. This was the start of the great deforestation.
Assise (Marie-Hélène Richard) - © Filature du Mazel LandscapeSeated (Marie-Hélène Richard)
Far from town, paths open the door to new rhythms. Another vision of life and time lets us breathe in the ever-present contemplation, stones, trees and skies. A physical experience of coming face-to-face with nature. A bench made of wood and branches, whose back becomes thinner as it rises towards the sky, as if to turn back into a tree.
Bassin versant (Xavier Réche) - © Filature du Mazel WaterCatchment Area (Xavier Rèche)
By its location and name, this installation evokes the nearby watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean. A vessel reduced to a suspended wooden framework, without strakes or gunwale, tilts in the direction of the runoff. It emphasises the first branches of a gigantic drainage system.
Description
From Prat Peyrot, take the D18, then the D118 to climb to the summit of Mont Aigoual (there-and-back), then continue on the D18 to Cabrillac.
- At Cabrillac turn right onto the D19 to the Col Salidès pass. After the pass, take the D907 to St-André de Valborgne.
- Cycle through the village of St-André de Valborgne and turn right onto the D10, towards Valleraugue, via the Col de l’Espinas and Col du Pas passes.
- At Valleraugue, return to the Col de La Serreyrède on the D986, via L’Espérou, then take the D269 to Prat Peyrot.
- Departure : Prat-Peyrot
- Arrival : Prat-Peyrot
- Towns crossed : Saint-André-de-Valborgne, Bassurels, Rousses, Gatuzières, Meyrueis, Val-d'Aigoual, and Les Plantiers
Forecast
Altimetric profile
Recommandations
Before committing yourself to a circuit, ensure that it is suitable for your activity level and ability. Respect traffic laws and other road users; stay in control of your speed and trajectory. Make sure to be seen and travel in single file when in a group. Remember that the weather changes quickly in the mountains. Take enough water. Safe trip !
Information desks
Tourism'house and national Parc at Florac
Place de l'ancienne gare, N106, 48400 Florac-trois-rivières
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
Tourism office Mont Aigoual Causses Cévennes, Saint-André-de-Valborgne
les quais, 30940 Saint-André-de-Valborgne
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.
Tourism office Mont Aigoual Causses Cévennes, Valleraugue
7 quartier des Horts, 30570 Valleraugue
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
Access and parking
From Meyrueis or Valleraugue, take the D986 to the Col de La Serreyrède pass, then the D269 to Prat Peyrot.
Parking :
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