Walking in the Cevennes : 31 walks and the Tour of Mont Lozere (Edition 1) (Paperback)

Situated at the southern end of the Massif Central, to the west of Provence and north of the coastal town of Montpellier, the Cevennes is one of France-s wild and unknown regions.  Resembling the Scottish Highlands in places (similar in height at a maximum of 1567m but warmer in summer with fewer midges), the region includes the 230,000 sq.km Parc National des Cevennes, source of the famous river Tarn which flows from the Mont Lozère through the spectacular Gorges du Tarn.  First introduced to a wider world by Robert Louis Stevenson-s well-known classic -Travels with a Donkey- (1879), the landscape of the Cevennes has changed little compared to other regions of France and has a tremendous range of hiking possibilities for all grades of walkers.

Compared with Provence, the landscapes are harsher, more mountainous, less populated.  The weather is more extreme:  winters are cold, windblown and snowy, the summers dry and hot.  The Cevennes attracts the walker and explorer who has a taste for a more rugged and subtler landscape – the mysterious emptiness of its endless hillsides like blue crests of waves rolling to the distant horizon, deep dark gorges cutting through stark open plains.

Based in the town of Florac in the northern Cevennes and in Le Vigan in the south, the guide explores the walking potential of the region in 31 half to full day walks and describes a five day circuit of Mont Lozère.   Also included in the guide are chapters on the history, travelling to the region, when and where to go, accommodation, flora and fauna etc.