Mont Aigoual - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Cévennes National Park is a national park located in southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes. Created in 1970, the park has its administrative seat in Florac at Florac Castle. It is located mainly in the départements of Lozère and Gard and covers some parts of Ardèche and Aveyron. The Aven Armand cave is located in the park. In 2011, the Park was made a part of The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Aven Armand cave, discovered in 1897 by Louis Armand, Martel's second-in-command, has a forest of over 400 stalagmites in its immense underground chamber. It is not exactly a cave: the latter is a horizontal underground cavity, more or less deep, comprising at least one accessible part. It has been open to the public since 1927 after a man-made tunnel and walkway paths were created to permit easier viewing of the Grand Salle.

The Causse Méjean is a vast French limestone plateau that is part of the Grands Causses. It is the highest of the Caussenards plateaus with an altitude varying from 800 m to 1,247 m at Mount Gargo. Its surface area is approaching 340 km. The Causse Méjean is entirely included in the perimeter of the Causses and Cévennes site, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list on June 29, 2011.

These limestone caves are host to a wide variety of unique mineral formations and a perfect year-round place for all ages to visit. At various times in history, the cave has also served as a hiding place and refuge. At the time, visiting the cave was quite perilous, but in 1931 a funicular, concrete stairs and walkways with sturdy railings and extensive electric lighting were installed to make it accessible to the general public.

Bambouseraie en Cévennes is the perfect place to bond with nature. A uniquely special botanical gardens with over 1,000 varieties of bamboo, rare flowers, and remarkable trees and plants, offering visitors a magical and completely unexpected break in the Cévennes. It was ranked as one of France’s most beautiful gardens.

The highest peak in the Cévennes range and it is commonly used for skiing during the winter months and offers some stunning natural scenery and is covered by coniferous plantations and 'broom' scrub moorland. Its vast, smooth expanses are dotted with rounded granite balls shaped by erosion. Small streams flow amid the peat bogs, which are home to precious endemic flora.