The Aubrac plateau is famous throughout Europe for its landscapes, charming villages, fauna and the variety of flora. This the French volcanic and granitic plateau coiled in the Massif Central is located on the borders of the departments of Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère. It is officially the 53rd Regional Nature Park and includes 64 municipalities between the three departments. A choice destination for long spring weekends, especially during the Transhumance Festival which takes place in the area at the end of May. Get on your agendas!
In Lozère, a vibrant nature
In Lozère, the Aubrac plateau is an area of rough pastures and burons, cows and tomme. Its magnificent landscapes, almost desert, are an enchantment under the snow as well as in the clear air of spring. To the northwest of Lozère, there is a thick accumulation of basalt groundwater covering the crystalline soil, a result of the large Auvergne volcanic complexes. Particular shapes mark the landscape, peaks or basalt walls like the rock of Peyre or the Fare de Chirac, prismatic expanses like the bridge of Les Nègres... Chiselled by the Quaternary glaciations, which left sparkling lakes and greyish peat bogs, animated by the murmur of streams, it extends peacefully, covered with moors and meadows. But its foothills are made of slopes that are difficult to access: in Lozère, Aubrac culminates at the Signal de Malhebiau, at 1 471 m. After a sleep of sometimes six months under a thick snow cover, nature explodes in spring: daffodils, daffodils, brooms, gentians... This plateau of volcanic origin, sitting on the basalt, is a land considered austere because of its atypical landscape and its harsh climate in winter, but endearing. Some very nice walks in perspective!
In Aveyron, between local culture and charming villages
In the heart of the highlands of the Pays du Haut-Rouergue, unfolding its impressive vastness, the legendary and attractive Aubrac plateau profiles its horizons infinitely to the borders of the Aveyron. Forests and pastures share the space where red herds graze in the summer, around the burons, these chalets whose roofs almost touch the ground, to better defend themselves from the snow in turmoil and where, not so long ago, cheese and Laguiole tomme were made, used to prepare the no less famous aligot. When spring breaks suddenly, it covers the ground with a multicoloured carpet of daffodils and daffodils. The flora is very rich here and was the subject of trade in the 18th century, with licorice, hellebore and gentian being the most popular. Laguiole is the capital of this country very close to the sky whose clouds, like large ships, make so many moving shadow spots. The paths are called drailhes, the rivers that flow from the Aubrac to the valley are called boraldes. Everything here is different and we can really talk about a local identity. The churches, most of which were rebuilt after the Hundred Years' War, form a fairly homogeneous group of typical bell tower-comb buildings, while towns and villages of character, old Gothic bridges, castles and mansions with their rich architecture quietly graze. In short, a prime spot for family holidays as soon as the sun comes out and the big weekends of spring arrive.
Long live transhumance!
As every year, the Transhumance Festival of the hamlet of Aubrac celebrates the eponymous cow. A great opportunity to dive into the heart of the regional traditions of the Massif Central. It perpetuates the ancestral tradition of the Estive, when shepherds lead their herds to the high pastures, at the beginning of a period of solitude, during which the daily milking of cows and the making of the tomme (which will become cantal) marked their lives in the "burons ". The festivities are held on the weekend closest to 25 May (Saint-Urbain Day, the traditional day on which herds go up to the plateau) and the 2019 edition will therefore take place on Sunday 26 May in the village of Aubrac. On the program, a market of local producers, folk dances, a dinner dance and a presentation of the most beautiful cows, dressed in flowers for the occasion, by their breeders. A very nice event if you are in the area. Or more precisely in Lozère in Mende, which also celebrates this important moment in the lives of the shepherds on the plateau.
Smart info
When? When? Spring and fall are the ideal seasons to escape the summer crowd. To attend the 2019 edition of the Transhumance Festival, visit the village of Aubrac on Sunday 26 May
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AUBRAC-LAGUIOLE TOURISM OFFICE - More information on the website
TRANSHUMANCE DAY - More information on the website
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