Need to disconnect? Then the Cévennes will be "your paradise", praises the columnist of "Et si on partai?" on Europe 1, Jean-Bernard Carillet. The author of Lonely Planet set off to discover the way of life and the rural traditions which animate this region in the south-east of the Massif-Central, in particular transhumance, which earned "Causses and Cévennes" from being registered in the World Heritage Site, in 2011.
Four days in the life of a shepherd
"The first experience I offer you is to become an apprentice shepherd in the summer pastures, alongside a professional on foot, during a transhumance. Many providers offer it. For four days, you will live alongside of a shepherd. An immersion in the pastoral world, in breathtaking landscapes, with a night under the milky way, all helped by donkeys. A journey which, despite appearances, is millimeter.
The first day is the preparations: we learn to put on a halter [a piece of harness, note], to groom, to check the hooves and to install the bags on the donkeys. As for the sheep, the making of traditional decorations is underway, and the shepherd tells us all about the symbolism of the pompoms and the role of the different cowbells. At the end of the day, they are gathered in an enclosure. Each animal must be caught by the hind paw and immobilized. You have to get started with several: one is astride the sheep, the others hang decorations and cowbells.
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Second day: the transhumance sets off, we 'go to hell'. The coordination of the transhumance participants is important so that the herd remains grouped behind the shepherd, even on narrow paths. With the help of sheepdogs, we make sure that the late sheep quickly join the group. Throughout the trip, the stops (approximately every two hours) allow us to eat and regain strength with meals made from farm products. The day ends with a bivouac.
The next morning, we wash in the river with a 100% natural soap and enjoy a breathtaking view. Then we prepare the donkeys and we get on! On the fourth and last day, we arrive in the granite landscapes of Mont Lozère and share our last meal with the shepherd. In general, trips with a donkey, for a day or over several days, are ideal for exploring the region.
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A field of menhirs ...
This journey is all the more impressive since Mont Lozère has a nice surprise in store. The magnificent austere giant of granite covered with yellowed grass hides within it a ... field of menhirs, the Cham des Bondons. On a plateau at an altitude of 1,000 m, there are 154, spread over 10 km²: it is the second megalithic site in France, just after the alignments of Carnac, in Brittany. It is one of my favorite places in Lozère: no trees, endless horizons, mysterious and disturbing atmosphere ...
... and a steam train
But living in the skin of a shepherd is not the only memorable experience of the Cévennes: there is the famous steam train which circulates between Anduze and Saint-Jean-du-Gard. 40 minutes of happiness, in open wagons, to parade through steep valleys. But the must still remains the baptism aboard the locomotive. An unforgettable experience from the workshop to the rails, including the loading of coal.
Especially since this train of another age stops at the bambouseraie, a magnificent exotic garden, born from the dream of a local merchant from the Gard who had made his fortune in the 19th century. Some 200 species of bamboo flourish there under the Cévennes sun, there is even a giant bamboo, which is more than 25 meters high, with a stem 20 cm in diameter. Besides, there is a little anecdote to know about this bamboo plantation: every 15 days, a truck takes delivery of a load of bamboo leaves to feed the panda of the Berlin zoo, which only eats that.