Читать книгу The Grand Traverse of the Massif Central. by mountain bike, road bike or on foot онлайн

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The next few days are spent in the Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, at first following the main Chaîne des Puys of volcanic hills, and then skirting to the east of the Monts-Dore, a series of high peaks and ridges topped by the highest summit in the whole of the Massif Central, the Puy de Sancy (1886m/6186ft). The GTMC crosses the high Cézallier plateau and then to the east of the extinct Cantal volcanoes, before descending first to Allanche and then to the historic town of Saint-Flour.

The first stage of the GTMC now over, the route then proceeds over the high hills of the Margeride, a remote area from which many Maquis operations were launched during the Second World War. The national monument to the French Resistance is located near the highest summit of the Margeride, Mont Mouchet, at 1490m (4887ft), and there is the opportunity to visit both. The way continues across sparsely populated country – passing the route taken since medieval times by pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain – finally descending to the spa town of Bagnols-les-Bains.