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Pailhats de Courgoul: cultivated terraces
Description
Located in the Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, between Sancy and Cézallier, the Association des Pailhats de Courgoul is enhancing the site and telling the story of a landscape of dry stone terraces (pailhats) and the people who created it.
In the gorges at the entrance to Courgoul, the pailhats tell the story of the know-how and courage of the valley's inhabitants, as well as the richness of this natural and landscaped environment. Committed to the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, a refuge for the French League for the Protection of Birds and promoted by passionate volunteers, this site offers visitors the treasures of a preserved natural environment. An educational apiary completes the visit. Thanks to the collective efforts of the local inhabitants, you can sample the jams and mountain honey produced in the village and sold at the café associatif.
Technical Information
Altimetric profile
Additional information
Price(s)
Free access.
Group rate available for 15 people or more.
Free self-guided tours, free guided tours for schoolchildren and adults, paying tours for adult groups: 30 Euros.
Distinctions
Charte Européenne du Tourisme Durable (CETD)
Updated by
Auvergne Pays d'Issoire - 27/07/2026
www.issoire-tourisme.com
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Open period
From 01/01 to 31/12/2026 from Monday to Friday.
Free tours all year round. Guided tours by appointment and every 3rd Sunday of the month between May and October. RDV at 10 a.m. salle des Pailhats route des gorges . Duration approx. 1h30.
Host portrait
In 1998, a number of Courgoul residents got together to found the Pailhats de Courgoul association, with the aim of restoring and even rebuilding the pailhats in the commune. Today, the association has some 50 members, including 10 very active volunteers. It organizes the Fête des Pailhats every third weekend in October, welcoming over 1,000 people to Courgoul! It has a salaried employee (on assisted employment), works with local players such as the Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne and the ESAT de Brassac-les-Mines, and offers events for work groups.
Contact
Phone :
04 73 71 23 84
06 38 52 03 27
07 68 99 76 45
Email : pailhatsdecourgoul@gmail.com
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/PailhatsdeCourgoul/?ref=br_rs
Sustainable tourism
For many years now, the Association de Valorisation des Pailhats de Courgoul has been redeveloping a landscape of dry stone terraces so well exposed to the morning sun. It is on these giant steps that the Association's beehives have naturally found their place, to take advantage of the riches of the Courgoul Valley, home to a wild and varied flora, preserved from all pesticides. Hedgerows, mountain pastures and primary forests are our bees' larder, and their honey is the quintessence of this. We share it with them, respecting their work: from harvesting to potting, everything is done naturally. Only nature decides on its properties, color and fragrance.
Animals
Yes
Data author
