While this part of the Corbières has just joined the 58 other regional natural parks of France with its Corbières-Fenouillèdes natural park, we take you for a tour in the retrospective... A few million years ago, in the tertiary era, this massif was the ancestor of the Pyrenees... "The Pyrenees did not exist yet, that the Corbières were already inhabited". The Corbières were during long centuries impassable wild zones, whose sites of the Cathar Country formed a border of stone with Catalonia (attached then to Spain). We will spare you the story of the carcasses of sheep, horses and noisy crows that made the local legend, because the Corbière, written in the singular at the time, was the literal name of the Mountain of the Shepherds, or the River of the Crows, two etymological hypotheses. The area is still sparsely populated, but of wild beauty and very active culturally and viticulturally speaking.
The Corbières, a territory full of nature
Cereals, olives and sheep were traditionally the three udders of the region. The vine came later, on the steep and rocky slopes, where other crops were impossible, facilitated by the ancient culture, the mass wine of the neighboring abbeys and the flourishing trade of the Canal du Midi. Three hundred years later, the Corbières is a PDO with no less than 11 wine-growing areas spread over 4 geographical zones: Hautes-Corbières, Basses Corbières, Corbières méridionales, Corbières orientales. You will need to love nature and wine to blend in with the landscape. The car is mandatory to follow the wine and bird route of this legendary land, even if some parts can be done on foot or by bike. From Bugarach to Rennes-le-Château, from the abbey of Lagrasse to the castle of Termes, the Corbières contain internationally renowned villages and 600 km of marked hiking trails.
On the road to the Hautes-Corbières
It's almost as if you need an atlas and a history book to go on a weekend trip to the Corbières, because this massif is so diffuse, dense and wild. So we have chosen a particularly interesting area, as much for its hiking loops, as for its local products and patrimonial places : the Hautes-Corbières. We like to get lost there, and many saving stops allow to continue the road with the nose in the wind, in the middle of rocky landscapes and massive limestones of the Jurassic. Take a pair of mid-mountain shoes, a wool sweater, and we'll take you on the GR36 : les Collines du Termenès, a 52 km loop towards the high places of the Hautes-Corbières. But first, before the loop, stop at Lagrasse, one of the most beautiful villages in France, whose abbey is still very much in the news, for its still active religious past, as well as for its secular part dedicated to poetry and literary meetings.
You will also discover under the covered market of the village, an artisan potter, Myriam and an artisan stylist, Eppo. Leaving the village, stop at the Château Saint-Auriol, a vast domain where natural wine has its letters of nobility with the Dom & Terre brand. You can also sleep at the gîte des Vins d'Ange, in Saint-Pierre-des-Champs, to prepare yourself happily for the hike
The tour of the Hautes-Corbières
There you are, you are now ready, you have grasped the Corbières spirit. Let's go for 3 days to discover this area with clay-limestone soil and ideal weather conditions to air the spirits: the weather is often dry, hot and windy. At the beginning, you will be able to visit the village of Villerouge-Termenès, where was burned Bélibaste, the last "perfect", then direction Félines-Termenès Aux Berges Libres for a sweet night before meeting the next day one of the wine figures of the area, Guillaume Boussens, in Dernacueillette. This is the perfect place to drop your smartphone in a ravine and go back to the days of the candle and the compass... The loop continues with Laroque-de-Fa where you will find all the local products you need for a home-made picnic with the B&C store: local delicatessen and goat cheese, Lucques olive tapenade and mountain honey, ideal for discovering wild orchids and the ruins of the mill along the way... The loop continues with the castle of Termes, the remains of one of the most powerful lordships of the Languedoc, where you can have lunch at the Auberge de Termes, with its home-made cuisine and small terrace, before finishing in style and reaching Villerouge-Termenès and sleeping the sleep of the just at the gîte de la Placette, a peasant's welcome. Didier will tell you all the local stories
FUTURE INFO
When is it?
Spring for the reborn nature, summer and fall for the small festivals.
Duration
3 days for the complete tour, possibility of shorter hikes on : www.tourisme-corbieres-minervois.com
Public
All publics. Lovers of nature, heritage, living products. People living in the region looking for micro-adventures or tourists who are geographically distant. Children may be interested in donkey rides or eating in disguise at the medieval restaurant
The pluses
The steps in favor of sensitive natural spaces.
The local stores or producers' cooperatives.
The numerous hiking and mountain bike trails.
The sites of the Cathar country.
Useful
ALL THE NEWS OF THE CORBIÈRES - More information on the site
June : the poetic stroll in Bordegrande : - More information on the site
August : The August Wind in Davejean - More information on the site
August : The Book Banquet in Lagrasse - More information on the website
October: Vivons le théâtre en Corbières - More informationon the site
Smart addresses
Hiking/biking trails - More information on the site
B&C ÉPICERIE in Laroque-de-Fa - More informationon the website
Chambre d'hôte le clos des Vins d'Anges - More information on thesite
Gîte de la Placette - More information on the site
Restaurant La Rôtisserie médiévale - More information on thesite
Tour with a pack donkey - More information on thesite
Gîtes La Maison de Mitoune - More information on the site
Gîtes Castelnaut - More information on thesite
Bed and Breakfast Aux berges du Libre - More informationon the site
Gîte La Cave de Massac - More information on thesite
Auberge de Termes : 09 81 45 46 80
