ITINERARY ON GR®7 MONTAGNES DU CAROUX, 4 DAYS

1

The Caroux is a mountainous massif with steep, uneven slopes. This first stage immediately gets to the heart of the matter, with a trip along the "Chemin des légendes" (or "1000 steps", a historic path) that quickly takes you to the Vezoles lake (km 8) and its mountain atmosphere. The remainder of the route crosses the Somail and Espinouse plateaus, and takes on a less rugged profile, with forests, moors and balconies offering incredible views of the valleys below and the other peaks of the Haut-Languedoc.

2

The route quickly leaves the plateaus to return to steep valleys on technical, challenging trails. The Col de Bardou pass (km 33) marks the entrance to the Gorges d'Héric, the heart of the Caroux massif and a popular spot for traditional climbing. After the hamlet of Héric, the slope rises again to reach the hamlet of Douch (km 37) and then the Caroux plateau at over 1000m altitude. The orientation table (km 40) offers a breathtaking view, with glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees. A few kilometers more on this high-altitude plateau, before descending into the upper reaches of the Colombières gorges and gradually losing altitude to reach Lamalou-les-Bains, renowned for its thermal cures (km 55).

3

To kick off this stage, the short but steep climb to the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Capimont (km 57) quickly awakens the muscles. The rest of the stage is no picnic either, as you follow a series of undulating paths between the valleys and Causses of the Larzac foothills. The terrain becomes flatter at the Orb crossing (km 70) as the route enters this wide valley. At the end of the stage, there's a pleasant single-track climb to the village of Dio (km 76).

4

After a warm-up at Valquières (km 79), the muscles are put to the test as we climb 350m to Puech Caubel (km 83, summit at 400m, not on the GR®7), where we are rewarded with a fine view of the Monts d'Orb. The rest of the route offers magnificent ridge sections on varied paths of no particular difficulty. This section gives you time to prepare for the final 10 km downhill to Lodève. Although not difficult, this last section requires a certain degree of physical fitness, particularly on the single-track sections where some of the slopes can be steep.

White and red GR

https://www.parc-haut-languedoc.fr/

Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park

GR - FFR