7 Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Occitanie

Checkout places to visit in Occitanie

Occitanie

Occitanie is one of the biggest French regions. The Occitanie region is famous for its colorful food, wines, medieval castles, culture, history. It also offers plenty of sporting fun with ski, sea, cycling,etc.

Activities Around

Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Occitanie

Étang de Thau

The Etang de Thau is the largest body of water in the Occitanie region. It has an area of ​​approximately 7,500. The pond, which is defined as a lagoon, is linked to the Mediterranean Sea by graus at Marseillan and Sète. Although it has a high salinity, it is considered the second largest lake in France.

Gardon

A deep canyon carved by the clear water of the river, the Gorges du Gardon reveal all the beauty of the Mediterranean landscapes, from cliffs to garrigues and sheltered forests. The Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard and the 16th-century Pont Saint-Nicolas are two historic bridges that cross the Gardon. The Gorges du Gardon, which ends at Pont Saint-Nicolas, is a popular recreation area for kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, and hiking.

Gaube Lake

Gaube Lake is located in an area of outstanding natural beauty surrounded by Pyrenean peaks over 2,000 metres above sea level. Hiking to the Gaube lake is a lovely stroll along well-kept tracks with beautiful waterfalls everywhere. The shoreline and surrounding slopes are covered with various glacial rock formations.

Gorge De Galamus

The Gorges de Galamus is a narrow passage between the French departments of Aude. They were dug by the Agly in the northern link of the Fenouillèdes syncline. The Agly that flows at the bottom of the gorges is a small river that comes from Pech de Bugarach and has dug this several tens of meters deep depression in the stone. The best way to explore the course of the Gorges de Galamus on foot or to take a circular route that gives impressive views of the gorges and their surroundings.

Lac des Bouillouses

The Bouillouses lake is an artificial lake with an area of 149 ha of the Pyrenees, in Haut-Conflent in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The lake has a capacity of 19,000,000 m 3 and is full annually in summer, and often almost empty at the end of winter. Lac des Bouillouses is very famous in the fishing industry. It includes brown trout common in Europe, arctic char, and rainbow trout.

Lac du Salagou

The Salagou Lake is a reservoir lake of the dam Salagou. It is located in the center of the Hérault department, on the Salagou river, a tributary of the Lergue river which flows into the Hérault. It reaches a depth of about 50 meters. The lake is dominated by mountains and plateaus culminating at 300 m in the east, up to 407 m for Carels in the west, and 535 m for Mont Liausson in the south. The latter separates the lake of Salagou from the dolomitic cirque of Mourèze.

Parc naturel régional de Camargue

Régional Nature Park of the Camargue is a designated protected area along the shoreline of the Camargue. The park protects a wetland environment and an adjacent marine area. The boundaries of the park have been expanded to include a lagoon called the Étang de Vaccarès. The Camargue is also the site of a national nature reserve and has been designated by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.

Map of Lake/ River/ Ponds to explore in Occitanie