Experience sharing
David Genestal, author of the blog Hiking notebooks, shares the stories of his hikes across France. In September 2024, he went to the Cévennes d'Ardèche to set off on the adventure of the GR® de Pays Le Cévenol, here is his feedback.
The Cévennes is one of those hiking routes that seem to want to remain secret, living in the shadow of the big "stars" of roaming where most walkers are crammed. However, it is one of the most beautiful walking trips in the heart of the Cévennes d'Ardèche that I have ever had the chance to make. A wonderful adventure through wild and confidential valleys, by alternative paths that exude a still very strong human history. I traveled this Cévennes from station to station to experience its promises. I came back convinced of having walked on a route that has everything to become a favorite among the ranks of the most demanding hikers.
DAY 1: LA BASTIDE PUYLAURENT – MONTSELGUES
Difficulty: difficult | Distance: 25,5 km | Duration: 8h30 | Elevation: +1035m/-1040m
At the crossroads of major hiking routes such as the Stevenson Trail or La Régordane, La Bastide-Puylaurent welcomes me as I jump off the train from Alès. A more discreet presence than its illustrious cousins, the Cévenol starts off on tiptoe towards the Trappist sanctuary of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges before tipping over towards Saint-Laurent-les-Bains and its famous tower. Beyond these lands dedicated to thermalism – The water here ranks 9th among the warmest in France – the route really gets wild. I enter a world of heather and schist, crossed by wild rivers spanned by isolated bridges: the Borne valley is a marvel that sets the tone for the first stages of the Cévenol.
I am struck by the immediate feeling of isolation conveyed by the landscape; as if, with a snap of the fingers, one had turned one's back on the "inhabited" world. There are indeed a few towns encountered along the way or glimpsed in the distance, like, a little further on, Laval-d'Aurelle. To call them a “village” would, however, amount to proclaiming La Bastide-Puylaurent a megalopolis!
It is the very soul of the Cévennes of yesteryear that persists in these schist hamlets that look like the end of the world.
The Cévenol connects them like pearls on a necklace, following in the footsteps of ancient cobbled paths and lined with stone walls that I imagine were actively used in the last century. The route gives me the impression of traveling in a Forgotten and authentic Ardèche. A privilege in my eyes, which solitude makes even more precious. The exit of the Ourlette gorges, an unexpected rocky defile at the end of the eponymous group of houses, calls for a new effort of ascent among slopes of conifers turning pink under the effect of the heather. With the altitude, the landscape changes little by little while the air cools. Past Chalendas and Pradon, the Cévenol makes its entrance on the sober and bare heights of a high plateau for the last kilometers of its first stage.
Here, at an altitude of over a thousand metres, a form of rigour is naturally expressed. A sort of roof of the world resting on a kingdom of ridges and deep valleys, where the shadow of the griffon vulture hovers.
Conditions which did not discourage men from settling there as demonstrated by the village of Montselgues, almost a capital here and, in any case, a fine example of communal dynamism as neither its size – modest – nor its location suggests.
I grab it as I push open the door of the La Fage lodge which, in addition to being accommodation, takes on the role of a center for outdoor activities. No other place than this lively place run by a committed team could be more suitable for stopping off in these heights of Ardèche, both harsh and superb.
DAY 2: MONTSELGUES + SAINT-JEAN-DE-POURCHARESSE
Difficulty: quite difficult | Distance: 20 km | Duration: 6h35 | Elevation: +530m/-1120m
This second stage leaves the upper levels of the Cévennes d'Ardèche to go and find, lower down, the path of Thines and its valley. Ferns and broad-leaved trees reclaim slopes that the altitude had forced to abandon.
The Cévenol always follows this network of ancient paths that its passage seems to resurrect, rubbing shoulders here with ruins and there with hamlets sublimated by restoration. This is the case of Thines, an unexpected highlight of the day and a landscape miracle discovered perched on its rock, at an altitude of 589m. The village, at its peak, enjoyed a golden age in the time of the 19th century peasantry.
The sequel unfortunately has the bitter taste of disillusioned tomorrows: overpopulation, exhaustion of the land and plant diseases get the better of men's pride. It is the time of exile. Thines slowly sinks into the silence of oblivion until the post-war period and the arrival of Marcel Bacconier came to sculpt the Monument to the Resistance commemorating the tragedy of August 4, 1943. His connection with the village is special and pushes him, alongside his brother, their wives and Lucienne Alibert, to found theAssociation of Friends of Thines in 1948, still active today with almost 80 members. The love of these volunteers for the village suspends its condemnation. Thines offers itself a new youth and displays new ambitions by encouraging and promoting local know-how as well as the creation of jobs on the rock. It is time for renewal.
Thines shines like an Ardèche Machu Picchu that men's attachment to old stones saved from shipwreck.
Perched on the heights of the Rode Ranc which has now joined the Cévenol, I contemplate one last time this small island of life frozen in the arms of an immense Nature. Like yesterday's stage, the exhilarating feeling of isolation is still very strong today.
Less marked by the seal of the rock than the previous one, the Suret Valley nevertheless displays a range of characteristics which, in my eyes, gradually forge theidentity of the “Cévenol” : the bruyère, omnipresent; the water, married to the rock, flowing into the slightest thalweg; a single-track path suspended on a balcony; the whimsical trunks of chestnut trees on the edge of the roads. And then, suddenly, the elegant slate roof of theRomanesque church of Saint-Jean-de-Pourcharesse. A work of art that I admire from the edge of the rampart of the road that Le Cévenol follows before going further down to the Pont des Planches in a profusion of chestnut trees.
A final effort takes me to the Alrassets rural cottage at Cécile and Alain's, chestnut growers working on the farm that looks like a little paradise that surrounds the stone walls of the characterful 1770 house that they have converted into accommodation for visitors. Enough to regain the strength needed for my next stop.
DAY 3: SAINT-JEAN-DE-POURCHARESSE – LES VANS
Difficulty: medium | Distance: 15,5 km | Duration: 4h50 | Elevation: +325m/-585m
This third day lays the foundations of a new landscape universe, more Mediterranean and also more inhabited. With small discreet touches, a Provençal tone settles into the undergrowth. The Aleppo pine succeeds the chestnut trees, surrounded by armies of ferns. A more marked heat takes up its quarters under groves of strawberry trees, heating the disjointed stones of the low walls that still often line the path.
Bres, a modest but charming town, dedicated to the glory of pink sandstone, is reached. I meet a local there who shares with me childhood memories of Pagnol, evoking the plough that his grandfather pulled not far from here, the vines now replaced by olive trees, the faïsses that developed the surroundings.
I then join Champmajour where a bench and a bit of shade are enough for my break. The houses, less pink than in Brès, do not however lack that natural charm conferred by the stone to the old buildings. Last and brief segments of open nature now separate me from the Vans. The human footprint in the landscape has regained its magnitude when I finally reach the banks of the Chassezac above which I see the glazed roofs of the towers of the Chambonas castle, a beautiful building built by the De Lagarde family in the 13th century. It is from the magnificent medieval bridge, thrown across the river at the exit of the village, that one can best enjoy the spectacle offered by the long staircase of the five terraces of its French garden.
I then enter the agglomeration of Les Vans, which extends gently down to its older centre. Like La Bastide-Puylaurent, Vans constitute a logical and essential stage in the Cévenol. Enjoy a Vals-menthe on the terrace while watching the ballet of passers-by and cars around the square Leopold Ollier - the father of modern orthopedic surgery who was born in Vans in 1830 and to whom the town has dedicated a museum – is almost a must.
After these first stages in the solitude of the high valleys, landing at Les Vans, at the confluence of the Cévennes and the Southern Ardèche, may seem brutal. So I escape into the pleasant streets and alleys of the historic center where the contemporary face of the town rubs shoulders with the old in a successful marriage of genres.
I recognize in Les Vans the slightly bohemian and colorful face of the Ardèche, its taste for popular crafts and impromptu parties, for good food and camaraderie. I push on to the Cancel Street, in my eyes the most beautiful of Vans with its cobbled street, its small flowery shops lining terraces where you could sip a glass of Viognier. I go around behind theSaint-Pierre-aux-Liens church, looking for good excuses to stay a little longer before finally going back up the Calade Street at the exit of which I almost collide with the Rousselet Protestant temple, a reminder of a Protestant history still relevant in the town.
Another face of Ardèche, that of a land of resistance and freedom.
The Vanséen Hotel is just a stone's throw away, a pleasant 3-star hotel run by a duo full of smiles and a pleasure to welcome. The establishment, which they recently took over less than a couple of years ago, has been nicely adapted to the tastes and colours of its new owners. That was all it took to enjoy the end of this third stage in Les Vans.
DAY 4: LES VANS – MALBOSC
Difficulty: medium | Distance: 18 km | Duration: 6h10 | Elevation: +850m/-490m
The smells of coffee and hot croissants quickly fade as you leave Les Vans through the Old Naves path, an old nostalgic route which leads the Cévenol towards the Barre greenhouse in background.
Ships, it's love at first sight. Reached by an ancient and magnificent cobbled street, the small village is a concentration of stunning medieval heritage. It's impossible not to fall under the spell of its narrow, cobbled streets, its stone porches and its facades nibbled by ivy.
At the crossroads of the Cévennes schists and the limestones of the south-east, Naves will also appeal to budding geologists, reviving that distant age when the region bathed in the warm waters of an ocean. The Cévenol also borrows part of the 4 kilometres of the Geopath specially created to pay tribute to the 18 million years of history revealed by this masterful setting. The day starts well.
As you approach the impressive building of the Alauzas, the chestnut grove temporarily regains its rights before disappearing behind a tidal wave of conifers announcing Brahic. It is a modest block of schist houses placed in the shadow of a 12th century Romanesque church. It sports a beautiful four-arched bell tower that chimes noon as I pass. I meet a group of friends who have privatized the street for an impromptu barbecue.
It is the face of generous Ardèche celebrating good food and living together.
I toast with them to happy encounters and the simple pleasures of life. The rest of the stage sets a lasting scene of tall maritime pines growing in a forest that a carpet of abandoned needles colors with an orange hue. I find there the solitude specific to the Cévenol while the route undulates between ferns and heather, briefly following the shallow course of the Planzolle stream.
The difference in altitude awaits a little later, abruptly waking my calves for the time of a climb towards Sabuscles, another of these Ardèche colonies built in schist and installed in a cramped area on a height razed for the occasion. This same schist that I find again, lower down, when crossing the bridge that spans theAbeauThe Cévenol is full of fresh watercourses, inviting you to take a break when not swimming.
The Abeau notch, opened across the route, has made you lose the few meters of altitude difference hard-won by climbing to Sabuscles. You must therefore have kept a little under your sole to climb, through the forest, towards Malbosc. This is the last effort of the day.
Arriving in the village, I can't resist taking a detour to the orientation table indicated by a sign. And it's not one but three reading tables that I discover that give the keys to identifying these distant peaks - we can see the Ecrins, the Vercors and the Dévoluy – likely to reveal themselves depending on the light, the time and the weather at the time. The shadow is already spreading over the roofs of the village when I turn my back on this panoramic horizon.
I still have two short kilometers to go to reach theDawn of the Ovens, where Catherine and her husband have opened a guest house for walkers and visitors to stay overnight. The spacious and old house, tucked away in a hamlet even more isolated than Malbosc already is, seems to me like a bubble of tranquility whose comfort and charm I savour as I look forward to another busy day.
DAY 5: MALBOSC – GENOLHAC
Difficulty: difficult | Distance: 21,5 km | Duration: 7 hour | Elevation: +810m/-850m
Exceptional spectacle from dawn with a sunrise on the clear horizon of southern Ardèche. A few seconds suspended before the day is here again.
I pack my backpack and head back to Malbosc along the path from the day before. I then head towardsEscoussous by forest paths to one of these magical "ruins", used by Le Cévenol and of which the Cévennes have the secret. Here an intact staircase framed by mossy stone walls which, in zigzags, climbs the last meters of slope leading to the narrow alleys of Escoussous. Always as immersive.
I further pass the border of Gard where the route continues its route, entering the “prized” garden of Michel Pena, baptized here Meadow at the Sources. A springboard to the panoramic summit ridges of La Loubière where I have a meeting with the planet Cévennes. Bonnevaux is revealed there, another masterpiece shaped from schist, as well as a horizon of reliefs descended from afar Mount Lozère. The Cévenol continues to amaze me here before sending me off to Aujac.
On the way I come across a few hives-trunks. A 100% Cévennes tradition where the black bee of the Cévennes finds refuge. It embodies a ancestral beekeeping that the Cévennes National Park and a handful of honey artisans would like to bring back into fashion.
Further down appears the Cheylard castle, one of the best preserved in the valley, which watches over the ancient Cizarencha, this strategic axis which linked Alès to Langogne in the 13th century. Between Aujac and Charnavas, the crossing of the Ceze, bordered by pebble and rocky beaches, offers me a welcome break between two slices of rediscovered tarmac.
A few kilometres from the end, the Cévenol makes more frequent concessions to the road as it moves towards Genolhac. I reach the large Cévennes town by the Canterperdix Pass, at a running pace and with an eye on the watch to make sure I don't miss my return train to Alès.
In Génolhac, the old, the medieval and the industrial coexist peacefully, far from the Wars of Religion, the Hundred Years' War and the Camisards that have marked its history over the centuries. Its rail service ensures that it is today one of the recognized gateways to the Cévennes National Park who has set up his Documentation and Archives Center there. A godsend for hikers who, like me, can thus very easily join or leave most of the major hiking routes that crisscross this part of Occitania. A valuable asset up the sleeve at a time of urgent need to turn to soft mobility.
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