The forest of Ratery

For centuries, the territory of the Haut Verdon valley supported the needs of a large rural population. Trees were cut down to supply wood for heating and for building houses as fires were a regular occurrence.With the ground being trampled, boulders removed, and in the absence of sufficient vegetation cover, erosion by mountain stream became terrible. In the 19th century, awareness of the problem grew and at the end of the century, replanting of trees began in at Ratery. Today, it is a “remarkable forest station, which tree lovers come to visit from miles away”.