Pauparelle

Throughout the climb, you will see abandoned former crop terraces. A few grapevines have persisted since local wine-growing came to an end. They bear witness to the fact that the slopes around these hamlets and villages were once cultivated and planted with fruit trees and vines. Terraces like these were the only way for the valley's inhabitants to have flat areas with deep soil suitable for growing.

From Pauparelle, there is a nice view of the village of Ayres. This hamlet came into being in the 11th century around a Benedictine priory, founded by the Abbey Saint-Victor-de-Marseille on the current site of the castle. The latter, laid out in the 16th century on the ruins of the monastery, was pillaged and burned to the ground by the Camisards in 1703. Rebuilt in 1710, it is now a renowned hotel. Pauparelle is a private property that is not open to visits. Its name means “estate of the poor”. The farm buildings and living quarters date from the 17th and 19th centuries. Until 1850, the property belonged to the Charity Office of the town of Meyrueis, which, at that time, had about 5,000 inhabitants. (Jérôme Reversat)

The two valley sides contrast greatly. On the south-facing side (adret), the limestone slopes present sparse vegetation. You will find box, shadbush (Juneberry) and common juniper – species belonging to the plants associated with downy-oak groves and Scots pine forests. These slopes, which are mostly covered by short-grass prairie, serve as sheep pastures. You will also see orchids in a thousand different colours and shapes. On the north side (ubac), on the foothills of Le Puech Pounchu, the ground is chalky and forms an island that has been detached from the Causse Méjean by the active erosion of the river Jonte in contact with siliceous soils. This side has been reforested with black pines, a species that is well-adapted to the poor dry soil. It had originally been wooded before the replanting, but over-exploitation of the forest and over-grazing suppressed those woods in the 19th century.