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CEVENNES
Taking advantage of the beautiful time that luckily it accompanies we have decided us to visit the beautiful National Park of the Cévennes, road doing however we have also seen the bridge suspended taller than the world and the zones in which it raged her "beast" of the Gevaudan (remembering a famous film...)!
Seem too things but have succeeded in finding a run to unite all these attractions!
Pressing on the colored lines of the map you will find a small description of the single drawn.
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391 km.
Departing of good' we now aim immediately for the pass of the Monginevro that we reach crossing the whole Val Chisone; sees the time the air is anchors prickly and 4 canonical drops wait us to the Sestrieres! We go down in hurry and we go beyond Briançon aiming for Embrun and his lake.
The traffic is to say a little congested, forcing us to lens tails and columns up to the whole center of Gap; from here we take the 994 that it immediately opens in the ample countries with a beautiful asphalt and a thin sinuous course to enter the throats of St. May, that you/they immediately strike us to follow him some curves in a really beautiful landscape, formed by the slow river Eygues that for centuries he has dug these bare mountains.
We reach Nyons (we are to 300 kms and we immediately make gasoline) where the panorama changes of hit: they open vast countries and lowlands completely covers of vineyards and punctuated by characteristics wine cellars; by now in the full fund valley of the Gnaws we proceed quickly up to Bollene where we cross the imposing river and we reach Pont st Esprit.
By now we are behind the Thick Central, it feels a lot him the influence of the near Mediterranean and the landscape it is really unusual: it seems to be in Sicily, anywhere plants of mixed olives to rows of grapevines you can be found; reached Bagnols we take D6 and in 50 boring km crossed on an arid highland reach Alès where waits us for the deserved one I rest!
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The National Park of the Cevennes
221 km.
Today is the day of the great visits! left the city of Alès we quickly reach the cave of Trabuc: known since the night of the times in it they have been found again various prehistoric manufactured articles, it served during the wars of religion and the street brigands elected it as them hideaway (from them the name, the trabucco was a' weapon employed then). The show allows yourself without breath: in front of you they open imposing festoons, gigantic "jellyfishes", little ponds from the splendid colors, up to his peculiarity: the cave of the 100.000 soldiers, an ample place where 100.000 are risen (I believe around!) stalagmites of which nobody knows how to explain the formation!
Left the cave we aim for Anduze and coupon for luxuriant woods we reach St. Hippolyte, let's pick it up D999 and in a lightning we are to Ganges the door of the, Cevennes. Taken the tortuous D25 we follow the course of the river Vis that unties him among holds throats and bare and re-ignited walls, after few kms the road gets up and with steep curves we salt in quota up to reach one of the various panoramic points on the unusual circle of Navacelles.
Eccentric country leaned on the fund of a steep funnel formed by a handle of the river by now had been withdrawing for centuries!
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After having circumnavigated Navacelles we aim to north and we enter the park, we cross grasslands and small suburbs up to her Vigan, from where he climbs definite in mean to a sharp pain forest up to the with the du Mines (it divided waters between Ocean and Mediterranean); now we cross The Esperou a small and I live country in perfect alpine style from where, always crossing a beautiful road all curves in forest, we reach the abyss of Bramabiau.
This is a deep throat from which the homonym river gushes out, created by the erosion of the water and by the pressure of 2 tectonic faults; human traces can be found you date to around 5000 years ago but it has really been explored by the geologist alone Martel in 1888, us let's visit a km but the river in the millennia has dug a net of 11 kms!
Left the abyss we return in the forest and we salt up to the peak of the Aigoual mountain where, further to an icy and impetuous wind, we find the meteorological observatory of the homonym French service, we find us in fact in the zone with the tallest percentage of precipitations of the whole France!
We take back the descent among steep grasslands beaten by the wind up to the hill de Perjuret where, coasting along the wall of the Chaos de Nimes, inserts there in a steep valley that brings us to Florac
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232 km.
Today we dedicate us to the part northerly of the park crossing the "circle de the gorges and de causses."
Departing from Florac center of the, park and I live country, we aim for Ispagnac where we turn to the right on her D907 and we take the valley of the river Tarn and his gorges; the valley is immediately sinuous with the road that it copies to the perfection the run of the river among more narrow handles; leaning out ourselves on the pebbly shore we are able to find many countries in rock that they testify the vitality of the zone also in past epoches.
Alternating us among ample curves and steep passages to precipice, let's cross her Malene and launchings centers thin to reach Peyreleau, where the valley opens of hit in vast countries that quickly bring us in the city of Millau and his game motorway viaduct.
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We cross the city aiming the viaduct that towers in distance until to reach his imposing "feet" where the is situated I center information, an express consultation and, left again, we go toward the country of St. Germain where we can take the highway and of consequence to cross the tallest bridge of the world! And' useless that copy, I attach a document drawn by the Messenger of the evening!
The passage costs 3,20 € for the motorbikes and 6,50 € for the autos. And' really unbelievable: for 2,5 kms it seems yourself to fly above the valley surrounded by the clouds and by these enormous pylons that poll nearby you; crossing it in direction north-south we avoid the toll of the exit and once put again the rubbers on the earth we go out to St. Georges and we aim verse St. Rome and through the D41 we reenter in Millau. Attention: gone out of St. Rome find a beautiful fixed posting of autovelox!
Left again after the lunch we take back our turn returning to Peyreleau and his ruin of castle medioevale and we take the holds and game gorges de the Jonte, that I have to say for me more beautiful and wild than those of the Tarn; here it is also a to follow him of small suburbs up to Meyruseis where we leave the fund valley and we climb there on the Causse Méjan; in 10 kms we are on a vast plateau, dry grasslands and beaten by the wind they surround us to loss of eye, seem to drive in the nothing, there is not an animates!
This surreal "large table" it is constantly around the 1000 ms. of height and, according to the subsidences, alternate boundless rents grasslands woods under wind, among which we have been able to see the effects of a ruinous fire; after the aerodrome of Florac we have met some lost thin farm to arrive on the edge of the Causse, where crossing a steep road we are come down in the city closing the initiated run to the morning.
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108 km.
After yesterday's visits, we have unfortunately today to aim homeward, but him we do with calm enjoying he/she anchors us the beauties of the throats of the tall valley of the Tarn and coasting along the south slope of the thick one of the mont Lozere.
We enter a zone that has been among the first ones to be explored in modern epoch from Robert Luis Stevenson in 1878, that it crossed it region in 12 days "with the company of a donkey, Modestine" and that it did to know to the public the beauties of the Chevennes.
After having gone up again the Tarn up to his/her sources we cross the cold Hill the Croix de Bérthel to 1088m. and we go down in splendid woods up to the country of Génolhac. By now in the fund valley we decidedly aim toward north penetrating us (perhaps because of the rainy time) in a zone still today wild and sharp pain of woods and woods that around 2 centuries ago he has been witness of dark stories.
Brought on the great screen and clearly fictionalized, the beast of the Gevaudan I sow' the terror for some years in the region, devouring about ten of inhabitants, babies and young girl. Always taken never and unpredictable, it was considered by now the tool of the divine anger.
In June of 1767 the terrible Betas he was killed by Jean Chastel in the country of the Besseyre the Mary, very more to north of where we are now, after months of continuous ambushes.
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Going up again the valley we reach Villefort where we can admire his characteristic artificial lake and from here we scramble us on the thick of the Goulet mountain between woods and grasslands, leaving the fund valley and crossing the D906 we quickly reach Langogne.
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472 km.
And' arrived the day of the reentry and unfortunately also the ache time: rain and seems refuses to stop! Let's take it National 102 that it crosses the last buttresses of the Thick Central coasting along the wild zone that contains the lake of Issarles and the impervious sources of the Loira.
We cross the hill the Chavade and leaving the dense woods, we quickly go down in the tall valley of the Ardeche with a descent of 41 thin kms to Aubenas, we take for Privas and the rain finally grants us a truce arriving in the valley of the Gnaws that we cross near Loriol.
We go up again therefore the river Drome, the road is very beautiful with ample curves and a good asphalt up to the suburb medioevale of Die where her roadway tightens him and it does him tortuous following that what time a stream is and we salts up to the 1180 ms. of the hill de Cabre.
They now wait us for 30 kms of descent in the beautiful basin behind the city of Gap; we cross the chief town and we reach the lake of Greenhouses Poncon, crosses it and crosses to bashful the road of the going until up to the alternative for Guillestre, that we reach, and from here we take for Chateau Queyras and we climb the hill of the lamb.
Reached the last curves with our surprise we see among the fogs a beautiful snowfall, we cross the hill with the snow and we are to end August! After a beautiful dose of cold (2 degrees!) we go down in the valley Varaita, we cross it all up to Saluzzo and finally to house!
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