Natural Park Haut-Languedoc

My journey continues towards Olargues, near the Parc Naturel Regional du Haut-Langudoc. In order to get there, I follow the rivers Orb and Jaur through a wooded and mountainous area. The bell tower of Olargues and the Devil’s bridge across the Jaur catch sight at once. In this village, too, many remnants of past ages can be found. Narrow alleys with cobbles and small houses determine the sight of this former capital of the West-Goths. In the vicarage a nice museum is hidden that gives you a good idea about how people lived here in former days.

The Parc Naturel Regional du Haut-Languedoc is nearby and I decide  to take a walk through the Gorges dHeric. I turn at Mons la Trivalle and so I quickly reach the start of the canyon.The  Heric is not just a river. The clear water that flows over the smooth rock are the giant Heric’s tears.The legend goes that Heric had fallen in love with a pretty giantess, but a god felt envious and turned his lover into a rock.Since then, Heric has been crying over his lost love and the Gorge dHeric has been a vale of tears.

The blue-green water invites me to come for a swim and the rock welcomes climbers, but I continue my walk through the steep,  quirky rift. The road leads the hamlet of Heric where only a couple of families live. Definitely a place where the visitors outnumber the inhabitants.

Wine

It is clear that I am in a winedistrict when I continue my journey towards Roquebrun the next day. Along the road I see one vineyard after another, and near the winecellar of Roquebrun the new vintage is already taken in. But first I pay a visit to the botanical gardens of this mediterranean village. These wonderful gardens are situated on a high, steep slope, and because of this location all plants, that seem to have been brought here from all corners of the world, enjoy the beneficial microclimate. After having visited the gardens, I can’t resist going to the winecellar to taste some wines and stock some bottles. Can you find a better way of ending your short holiday in France?