On the Templar and Hospitaller trail in Aveyron
Before discovering our journey on this GR71c, a bit of history to remind us of what the Templars and the Hospitallers were. It all started in 1095 when Pope Urban II reported to the Council that the Christians of the East needed help against the Muslims. This call will be heard. Thousands of men from all social categories embarked on what are now called "the crusades". After 2 years of fighting, Jerusalem was retaken from the Muslims. The Order of Hospitallers was created by nobles to care for pilgrims coming to Jerusalem from all over Christianity. the Order of the Templars will be born at the same time and will work to defend the pilgrims on the roads leading them to Jerusalem. Templars and Hospitallers will build castles and hospitals still visible today on their lands in Larzac.
But where is the Larzac located? A small map below to help you
Where is the GR71C located on the Larzac plateau?
We decide to discover this GR a little late in the season, we are mid-October. The cottages and campsites are mostly closed at this time....it doesn't matter we had planned to leave in complete autonomy (water and freeze-dried food) This GR is well marked (red and white), you can prepare your trip with the FFR guide if you wish. So here we go for this 1st day. Car parked in the huge car park at the entrance to the village of La Couvertoirade. A word of advice: report your vehicle to the town hall if it has to stay there for several days (no need for them to call the emergency services :))...don't forget to indicate your route!!
Discover the video of this trek at the bottom of the page
The 1st stage will take us from La Couvertoirade to the Bois de Carron, a few kilometers from La Cavalerie. About 20km and 6 hours of walking. La Couvertoirade is a pretty village. This medieval city is one of the best preserved in Larzac. Narrow streets, ramparts, crafts and shops.
But this morning no tourism... the weather is rainy, we reassure ourselves by saying that summer must be worse with the heat :) We start these first kilometers with enthusiasm between stony and desert area, small forests, pastures and a particularity of this region I think, these paths well sheltered between 2 hedges which form a pleasant and surprising green corridor. We end our day with a beautiful climb in the Bois de Carron at the exit of Hospitalet du Larzac. (Tip: remember to fill up with water at the tap next to the washhouse) The fog is falling, it's 5 p.m....we decide to stop at the exit of the wood near a small chapel sheltered from the wind...if it were to rain we could put ourselves in the shelter.
Day 2: from Bois de Carron to Viala du Pas de Jaux: 21 km and 6 hours of walking. The weather is still gloomy. Too bad, we have to go. We are heading towards La Cavalerie. There is a drinking water point near the town hall. Opposite... the medieval city. A bit of tourism even if everything is closed in this season. Here we go again. The landscapes are different... pastures, sheep in the fields, large green valleys and a greater drop (1000m +/-) compared to (500m +/-) yesterday. We have lunch at Ste Eulalie de Cernon under a bus shelter from another era... quite nice.
At the end of the day we arrived at Viala de Pas de Jaux. The wind is blowing quite hard and the rain is falling. We are not very motivated to pitch the tent in these conditions. I propose to bivouac in the public toilets which are very clean. Mattress, sleeping bag, here we are sheltered from bad weather...that's also the trek, knowing how to adapt to the circumstances. We'll have a good night. In the early morning, the mayor will come and pay us a little courtesy visit...everything is fine... A word of advice: Do not hesitate to come and visit the small castle in the village.
Day 3: from Viala du Pas de Jaux to Cornus: 17km and 5h15 walking. We leave for 1100m of elevation gain (+/-) The start is rather monotonous. We are on a plateau of pastures. We pass some rather pretty shepherds' shelters. After approximately 4 or 5km, at the exit of a wood we discover an immense valley, in the hollow the village of St Paul les Fonts and its gigantic circus. We walk on a cornice about 2m wide (watch out for vertigo). This place is splendid, you have to do this GR if only for this grandiose spectacle. We continue our journey on the other side of the valley on the plateau above the circus. The fog intensifies again. We decide to bivouac at Cornus, the last town before returning to La Couvertoirade. We set up the tent next to the gym after asking the town hall. It's 4 pm, we spend the rest of the afternoon at the bistro with some young people from the village to warm up with coffee. In the evening the pizza truck brings us back to civilization... no more freeze-dried for an evening :)
Day 4: from Cornus to La Couvertoirade: 22km and 5h45 walk Long stage and 950m (+/-) drop Here we are back on the Larzac plateau after crossing several valleys in recent days. Once again the fog does not leave us, preventing us from admiring the immense valleys which surround us. The wind is also there. The fog pushed by the wind passes from one valley to another making this spectacle of nature magical. At times the visibility is less than 50m. We are caught in this fluffy universe which could be scary if we lost our way. Following the GPS and following the white and red marks of this GR is our common thread. The sheep we meet, returning to the sheepfold, have understood that it was time to stop hanging around in this nature that has become hostile for any living being unaccustomed to such a condition. The day will be long... Despite everything, it is with regret that we finally arrive at the parking lot where our car is waiting for us...feeling torn between the joy of returning to civilization and the pleasure of having left it 4 days earlier.
hope to have made you want to do this GR, a few days in the middle of nature far from the hustle and bustle of the world. A big thank you to my son for having involved me in this project.
You can discover the video of this adventure made by "Visual Outsider" here