Land-Art course
The "Balcons de l'Aigoual" is a pleasant Land-Art trail offering 17 artistic works, located in the open air, and inspired by the relationship between man and the nature that surrounds him. The trail starts at the Prat Peyrot station building, in the direction of the Aigoual. You will find a car park along the road leading to the summit. This artistic path is closed to traffic, and the descent is made on the GR6 whose access is limited to walkers, so walking shoes are recommended. We also remind you that you are here in the Cevennes National Park, a remarkable preserved site, so please respect the specific regulations.
The exceptional site of Mont Aigoual is known for its harsh climate, so please ask the Tourist Office before coming and make sure you are covered!Causses and Cevennes - Cevennes National Park
Created in 1970, the Cévennes National Park covers the departments of Gard, Lozère and Ardèche. The only mid-mountain national park in mainland France, the park covers five different areas: the Méjean causse, the Lozère mountain, the Bougès mountain, the Gardon valleys and the Aigoual massif. On 321 000 ha, its mission is to preserve the richness and biodiversity of its terroirs. Climates, soils, variations in altitude are all diversities to be developed. Recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1985, the park is one of the few national parks inhabited by a significant permanent population, implying specific regulations for its preservation. The quality of its starry sky and the splendour of its night landscapes have also earned it the "International Starry Sky Reserve" label. Finally, the agropastoral cultural landscapes of the Causses and Cévennes have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2011. Agropastoralism is indeed the dominant agricultural activity of the National Park, shaping its landscapes and biodiversity for thousands of years. In this context, transhumance has been encouraged since 1970: as a major cultural heritage, transhumance has largely contributed to the construction of the current landscapes.
The Aigoual forest - the Land-Art trail
Stretching out in the south-east of the Massif Central, the Aigoual forest offers multiple faces and has a remarkable history. Originally planted with oak, pine, birch, hazelnut and beech trees, the Aigoual forest massif was completely deforested in the middle of the 19th century. This was due to intensive clearing by farmers, overgrazing, cutting for firewood, and the use of wood for the forge, mine and glass industries. The mountain was thus exposed and eroded, the almost non-existent forest could not contain the torrential rains of the Cévennes episodes, and disasters multiplied in the valleys of the Mediterranean slope: devastating floods of 1844, 1856, 1861 and 1868.
From then on, to fight against these phenomena, a vast reforestation policy was undertaken. This was to be the work of a lifetime, that of the forester Georges Fabre, assisted by his colleagues, who, in view of the failures to plant pioneer species to establish a tree cover favourable to the development of beech and fir, took on the advice and skills of the botanist Charles Flahault. In 40 years, the Aigoual forest has thus grown from 111 ha to over 12,000 ha. The first transitional conifers have disappeared, leaving room for the pectin fir, spruce, cedar and Douglas fir, as well as giant sequoias. Depending on the location, ash, sycamore maple, chestnut, mountain elm and alder have been added. The Aigoual state forest now covers 16,000 hectares, a rich ecosystem in which the living organisms of the forest have a very close relationship with the forest environment in which they live.The Land-Art
It is in this wooded environment that the Land-Art trail takes on its full meaning. Initiated in 2018 by the Filature du Mazel, an artistic and cultural factory based in Val d'Aigoual, the trail runs for 8 km on the southern slopes of Mont Aigoual. The year 2021 will have seen the addition of three works, three creations oriented around climate change. The Land-Art draws its inspiration from nature, encouraging the spectator to question the landscape and their relationship to nature. In total, 17 large-format works enrich the route and contribute to a certain fulfilment: your gaze is set, your thoughts are stirred, your emotions surge at each station. Your path opens on theOrée, gateway to another world, by Yoann Crépin. The Atlantic/Mediterranean watershed is not far away, and Xavier Rèche's Bassin Versant highlights the first ramifications of this immense hydraulic network. Imagine the journey to the treetops with Guth Joly's work, Tout là-Haut. Wind is an inseparable element of Mont Aigoual and is honoured by the structure Plein Souffle by the artist Xavier Rèche. No, you are not in front of the Game of Thrones throne, but in front of Marie-Hélène Richard's creation, Assise, a wooden bench with a backrest made of branches that rises towards the sky. The Coupe-Feu is an event in the landscape of Mount Aigoual: cut into the thickness of the forest, this grassy strip is the witness of man's action to protect the state forest from fire. It is an act that enters entirely into the artistic character of Land-Art. Aurélien Dupuis' Equilibre Précairn, reminds us of the cairns that hikers leave along the paths. What if you practiced pareidolia? This is what Fabrice Pressigent's character Couchés dans l'Herbe invites you to do: find shapes in the clouds! Then enter the Cellule by Marie Gueydon De Dives, contemplate the landscape and feel your presence in these places. The path then leads you to the collective work of Fiona Paterson and Donald Buglass: Tempus Fugit is a questioning of our passage on earth, of the effects of time on nature and on people. As you approach the summit of the mountain, you come across Marie Hélène Richard's creation, Mesure, which marks the end of an era, the time when meteorologists were present on the Aigoual all year round. The station n°11, Archéosmart by Marc Limousin, questions what we will leave to future generations. Find strength and serenity by taking a seat in the work of Céline Pialot, Les Nids. Alain Bernegger's Arbres-Feuilles bring a certain poetry to the graphic resonance of these ribbed structures that are half tree, half leaf. Gilles Bruni's Network reminds us of the fragile balance of the forest, while Raphaël Daynié's Wood Keeper shows us how much man can be in symbiosis with his environment. You have now reached the end of this loop. You can then experience a life-size bed in Steven Onghena's Burning Beds
: you can compare yourself to the forest exposed to global warming. Once you have completed your tour, take the time to discover the Observatoire, the last mid-mountain resort in France.The Observatory of Mont Aigoual
This emblematic building built in the 19th century is one of the last to be inhabited. Its Météosite houses a museum dedicated to meteorology and life at the top of the mountain. In this extraordinary setting, with extremely harsh weather conditions in winter, you can get a closer look at the activities of Météo France: numerous explanatory panels highlight the working techniques of meteorologists. Finally, the 800 photographs of Mont Aigoual will show you the place through the seasons and the climatology. Note that a climate change interpretation centre should open its doors by 2022. Unique in France, this tool will be at the service of scientific popularization and culture. Before finishing your tour, take a moment to observe.
The panorama
From the top of its 1567 meters, Mount Aigoual allows you to see a quarter of metropolitan France. On a clear day, you will have a remarkable view of the region: a 360° panorama that spreads out towards the Causse Méjean, containing the whole of the Cévennes as far as Mount Lozère to the north-east. To the east, the famous Mont Ventoux looms large, with the Pre-Alps in the background, with their peaks whitened in winter. Finally, to the south, the Hérault valley and its garrigues which lead to the Pic Saint-Loup which can be seen on the horizon.
A path completes the discovery of these landscapes, it is the path of the Menhir de Trépaloup. From Mount Aigoual, a yellow signposting leads you on a 2.8 km discovery trail. This short walk offers you panoramas from the Alps to the Pyrenees, from the Puy de Sancy to the Montpellier region. An orientation table will help you to see more clearly in these remarkable landscapes.
