Читать книгу Walking in the Cevennes. 31 walks and the Tour of Mont Lozere онлайн

16 страница из 71

After walking up the side of the gorge, with its fascinating rocky outcrops and vertiginous cliff face, it is always something of a shock to arrive at this flat upland landscape at the top (see Walk 23). It is as though you have suddenly entered another world, with its silent windswept slopes, some dotted with boulders and bushes, small isolated fields and the occasional fir plantation, but little else. The few farms still occupied concentrate on cattle, sheep raising or making cheese. This is also the home of the rare Prezwalski horse, which is threatened with extinction in the wild but flourishes here in a protected area of 300 hectares. On the western edge, where the Gorges du Tarn meets the Gorges de la Jonte, the bald-headed vulture can be seen, its huge wings cruising the air currents among the high, dramatic cliffs. These birds were reintroduced to the region in the 1970s.

Although there are roads, to get the feel of this unique country you have discover it on foot, and one of the most interesting walks is to a strange rocky area called the Chaos de Nîmes (see Walk 26). There is also a long-distance walk around the Causse Méjean, which takes about six days.