Gorges du Tarn Grand canyons and rolling mountains

Gorges du Tarn © Benoît Colomb / CRTL Occitanie

Gorges du Tarn

Gorges du Tarn © Rémi Flament / CRTL Occitanie

Gorges du Tarn

Why visit the Gorges du Tarn?

  • A Top Occitania Site in the running for the Great French Site accreditation (Gorges du Tarn, Gorges de la Jonte and Causses).
  • Cévennes National Park, UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve
  • UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Causses and Cévennes.
  • Sainte-Enimie, listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France."
  • Aven Armand and Dargilan Cave
Cartographie Gorges du Tarn

Gorges du Tarn

One of the most spectacular landscapes in France

The Tarn rose from Mont Lozère and its wild river rushed down the Cévennes and dug a deep canyon into the Grands Causses slab. Cliffs up to 500m high, breaches, ledges and rocks... the Gorges du Tarn stage their greatest show between Quézac (Lozère) and Le Rozier (Aveyron) for around 50km. It is the largest canyon in Europe!
Nearby, Millau, another Grand Site Occitanie, is considered the gateway to the gorges of the Tarn when you arrive by the department of Aveyron.

Explore the gorges du Tarn by car or canoe. Lay your towel on one of the river's beaches, take a dip in its turquoise water, go rafting... Whatever you do, you'll never forget such a stunning setting!

Gorges du Tarn © G.Deschamps / CRTL Occitanie

Gorges du Tarn

Great ideas for Tarn Gorges

See the top tips for visitors recommended by Tarn Gorges guide, Valentin Grollemund.

Video 0:45 © Tourism Occitania

A series of villages with character

Climb up to the Hermitage from Sainte Enimie(1 hr return). From there you can see the Tarn's loop then you can visit the squares, shops and shaded terraces in this village listed as one of the most beautiful in France on the way back down. You can also see Castelbouc clinging to the cliffside. Locals can only reach the hamlet of Hauterives by boat. Saint-Chély-du-Tarn puts on a great show with waterfalls and its fabulous bridge.

La Malène, Les Vignes and Le Rozier haven't been left out. You can visit them all on the D907bis!

Sainte-Enimie © Rémi Flament / CRTL Occitanie

Sainte-Enimie

Gorges de la Jonte

Keep the magic alive

La Jonte rises from Mont Aigoual (1565m) in the heart of the Cévennes National Park. It runs through Meyrueis before it ventures through another impressive rocky parade and jets into the Tarn.

Set off from Cassagnes on foot and cover Causse Méjean until the Balcon du Vertige to see the river's twists and turns. Drive by the most amazing views along the D 996 from Meyrueis or down a tiny road from Saint-Pierre-des-Tripiers to Truel.

Gorges de la Jonte - corniches du causse Méjean © Christine Chabanette

Gorges de la Jonte

Well worth a visit

Grab your powerful binoculars and spot 300 vultures gliding over the Gorges de la Jonte at the Maison des Vautours in Truel.

Find out more

The Causses

Experience life as a shepherd

You won't see many people on the Causses but you will see huge herds of sheep that have adapted to this UNESCO World Heritage site. Shepherds have spent centuries sculpting the vast stretches by building natural water reservoirs (dolines) and manmade ones (lavognes).

Gaze at the old and sometimes fortified Causses farms and vaulted sheep pens. Get to know the farmers with a trip to Domaine des Boissets in Sainte-Enimie or the Ferme Caussenarde d’Autrefois in Hyelzas.

Causse Méjean -Lavogne © Benoît Colomb / CRTL Occitanie

Causse Méjean

Mont Aigoual

Mont Aigoual

Cévennes

Recharge your batteries in the mountain

Venture higher than the Gorges du Tarn, go through the Cévennes villages surrounded by terraced fields, swim in the Bonheur with a climb up the Aigoual. Livestock go up to the summer pastures along the droveways. Make like the animals for great hikes and come back in winter to ski at the foot of the weather station on Mont Aigoual.  Follow the goats on the footpaths in the French Valley or the Corniche des Cévennes. Stop at the farms to sample AOP Pélardon cheese.

Original

Take the cable car to Aven Armand to delve deep into Causse Méjean and see the incredible show of its "virgin forest" with 400 stalagmites. Beneath the Causse Noir, explore the fairytale pink Dargilan Cave

How to get there?

The Gorges du Tarn are in the east of the Occitania region straddling Lozère and the Aveyron. The map is focused on the village of Sainte-Enimie.

  • By car: from Paris, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier and Toulouse on the A75 (Marvejols or La Canourgue exits). From Mende: the N88 then D986 until Sainte-Enimie and Meyrueis.
  • By train: from Banassac-La Canourgue (25km from Sainte-Enimie) or Millau station (42km from Meyrueis).
  • By plane: Rodez-Aveyron, Montpellier, or Nîmes Airports.

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