The idea of creating this 3-day itinerary is directly linked to the existence of the railway line "Cévennes line" and its train "le Cévenol". Of the 33km return by train, 13km are tunnels or viaducts.
Not far from the Trappist convent of Notre-Dame des Neiges, head towards Montselgues and its granite chaos, the Boules de Gargantua. From there, you'll plunge through woods alternating between conifers and chestnut trees to reach Les Vans. Between holm oaks, junipers, vines, and almond trees, here it's the schist that sets the tone. Next, Malbosc arrives with its slate roofs, steep slopes, and man-made ridges. You're truly in the heart of the Ardèche Cévennes.
Getting started with VAE (electrically assisted bicycle) roaming
This route links the stations of La Bastide-Puylaurent and Génolhac in 3 Ardèche stages passing through Montselgues, Les Vans and Malbosc before reaching Génolhac.
Stage 1: from La Bastide-Puylaurent to Montselgues
Distance: 25 km | Duration: 2h30 | Elevation: +128 m / -488 m
Leaving La Bastide-Puylaurent you will pass not far from the Palet de Gargantua, a huge sandstone slab that suggests it was a dolmen. Then you will go without forcing through the woods to reach the chapel of Beaumes. From there, the road rises over this magnificent valley with a passage at 15% to reach the hamlet of Pradons and finally Montselgues.
Stage 2: from Montselgues to Les Vans
Distance: 32,6 km | Elevation gain: +300 m / -1 m
Head towards the Col de l'Echelette to join the Vivarais Cévenol cornice and its very contrasting landscapes. The slopes are so abrupt that you don't go down from the plateau, you fall off it. Leaving the magnificent valley of the Thines and the magic of its hilltop village will take you through alternating coniferous and chestnut woods punctuated by a few clearings and dotted with small hamlets made of old stone houses with slate roofs to reach Les Vans.
Stage 3: from Vans to Génolhac
Distance: 41,4 km | Elevation gain: +1 m / -170 m
Leaving Les Vans, holm oaks, almond trees, vines, junipers announce a Mediterranean-type vegetation. The countless "accols", these terraces held by dry stone walls and the "clapas" these scree slopes which bear witness to the past where farmers, in order to find a little arable land, had to tirelessly clear their plots of land by hand.
Return by train from Génolhac
Board the train The Cevenol, from Génolhac station, for a return to your starting point in La Bastide-Puylaurent. Of the 33 km of railway tracks, linking Génolhac to La Bastide-Puylaurent, 13 km are tunnels or viaducts.
