Cévennes National Park
The Cévennes is France's most unusual national park — and arguably its most beautiful. Unlike the Alpine parks (which protect high-altitude wilderness), the Cévennes protects a lived cultural landscape: a mosaic of chestnut forests, limestone Causses, deep schist valleys, and
- Mont Aigoual (south): A forested peak (1,567 m) with a meteorological observatory at the summit — views to the Mediterranean on clear days
- Les Causses (west): Vast limestone plateaus — the Causse Méjean, Causse de Sauveterre — dry, karst-riddled, sparsely populated, bounded by the Gorges du Tarn
- The Cévennes valleys (east): Deep, narrow, terraced with chestnuts and mulberries — the historic silk-growing country
Wildlife
The Cévennes has been a conservation success story:
- Griffon vultures: Reintroduced in the Gorges de la Jonte since 1981 — now 500+ pairs across the wider Grands Causses. The Belvédère des Vautours visitor centre offers live nest-cam viewing.
- Black vultures, Egyptian vultures, bearded vultures: All reintroduced or returning — making the Cévennes one of only a few sites in Western Europe with four vulture species.
- Wolves: Returning naturally from the Alps — occasional confirmed presence.
- Przewalski's horses: A semi-wild herd on the Causse Méjean — part of a global conservation breeding programme.
- European beaver: Reintroduced into the Tarn in the 1970s — thriving.
Night Sky
The Cévennes is France's only International Dark Sky Reserve — 3,560 km² certified by the International Dark-Sky Association. On moonless nights, the Milky Way arcs overhead with extraordinary clarity. Best viewing: Mont Aigoual summit, Causse Méjean (no light pollution in any direction), Mont Lozère.
The Stevenson Trail (GR70)
Robert Louis Stevenson walked through the Cévennes in 1878 with a donkey named Modestine — and wrote Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. The GR70 follows his 252 km route from Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Jean-du-Gard. It remains one of France's most popular long-distance trails, and yes — you can still hire a donkey to carry your pack.
Routes of France — Walk the Stevenson Trail or drive the Gorges du Tarn — on La Porte.