Courgoul

Courgoul is located in a valley hollow by the Couze of Valbeleix. This Couze has its origins near the Chaumoune pass at 1300m high, and it is the principal tributary of the Couze Pavin. This village is known for its plots of culture fitted out with little walls in rocks, called “pailhat” in Auvergne.
Human beings have known how to control the craggy slopes of this valley to cultivate them by shaping them into terraces of rocks, also called “giant’s stairs”. In Auvergne, we use the word “pailhat” to define these plots fitted out with rock terraces and consolidated with little walls in rocks. You can discover this tradition through the walk called “Entre saules, chênes et pailhats” (“Between willows, oaks and pailhats”, edited by the departmental council and the Balirando association).