GRANDE TRAVERSÉE VTT DE L'HÉRAULT SUR PASSA MERIDIA - INTEGRAL SOUTH FROM LUNEL TO MINERVOIS

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CARCASSONNE

The Grande Traversée de l'Hérault à VTT via the Passa Meridia Meridia gets off to a gentle start at the gateway to the Petite Camargue, at the heart of bullfighting traditions. The Vidourle, an unpredictable river, guides you to the oppidum of Ambrussum and the Roman bridge of Ambroix, a vestige of the Via Domitia. Garrigues, vineyards and welcoming villages are omnipresent and accompany the rest of your journey to a stop at Entre-Vignes to discover a unique site promoting the Languedoc vineyards: Viavino. Between vineyards and pinewoods, you'll come across some masterpieces at Castries: an aqueduct designed by Pierre-Paul Riquet to resemble the Canal du Midi, and a château shaped like a small Versailles... Another beautiful château and a marvellous viewpoint at Assas, before entering the vineyards and garrigues of the Pic Saint-Loup.
The towering profiles of the Pic Saint-Loup and the Hortus are everywhere. Warmly-coloured vineyards and villages invite you to discover a wine-growing region with a well-deserved reputation. Thyme, juniper and boxwood accompany a pleasant, rolling route to Lauret and the first 'climb' into the world of the pastoral causses. A change of atmosphere: the climb to the Causse de l'Hortus has to be earned! The garrigue and its incomparable biodiversity accompany you to the village of Ferrières-les-Verreries, where gentlemen have been blowing glass for five centuries. Your adventure continues towards the Vallon de Londres between the old farmhouses and the jasses (from the Latin jacere indicating where the sheep sleep). In this marshy basin, the waters concentrate on springs, giving rise to more or less temporary streams, such as the Lamalou and its famous Ravin des Arcs. The area is home to charming medieval villages with incomparable Romanesque churches: Notre-Dame-de-Londres and Saint-Martin-de-Londres. Along the way, try your hand at the local sport of Tambourin. Towards the Domaine Départemental de Roussières and Viols-le Fort, numerous remains of our ancestors from the Copper Age line the route: oval tombs and menhir statues, the village of Cambous...
On the transhumance tracks, blooming with asphodel in spring, the route rises to give you beautiful views of the Hérault gorges and the foothills of the Cévennes and Larzac. The Pont du Diable (Devil's Bridge), a World Heritage Site on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela, marks the entrance to the Hérault Gorges Grand Site de France. A diversion to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert and the Abbey of Gellone is a must... There's another change of atmosphere after Saint-Jean-de-Fos, a charming village with a rich pottery heritage. You begin the climb to the Hérault from above, with marvellous views over the Hérault valley and Mont St-Baudille (848m altitude). A succession of steep climbs and rapid descents immerse you in the national forest of St-Guilhem-le-Désert and its Salzmann pine forests (the local version of the Corsican laricio pine). The Maison des Légendes at Les Plos is a poetic and ecological stop-off point before you reach the Domaine départemental de la Font du Griffe (off the itinerary), then the hamlet of Les Lavagnes, and begin the climb towards Larzac.
After a long and sustained climb, amidst lavognes, dolmens and menhirs, you reach the Pic Baudille (848m). This southern promontory offers a unique panoramic view southwards over the plains, hills and massifs of the Hérault as far as the Mediterranean Sea and even the Pyrenees when the weather is clear. To the north, a beautiful descent leads you to a surprising crossing of the Causse du Larzac. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Mediterranean agro-pastoral culture, the Larzac area is unique. The diverse landscapes of the Notre-Dame-de-Parlatges state forest, the dolomitic and karstic steppes, the caussenards transformed by man into vast dry grasslands... are a journey within a journey, both surprising and mystical. The village of Le Caylar, overlooked by its Roc Castel, and whose central square is adorned with an astonishing sculpted tree, heralds the entrance to a new world: the Haut Languedoc.
L'Escandorgue welcomes you for another atypical and mystical journey through the magic of its mysterious forest and surprising geological formations, the heart of the Terres d'Hérault Geopark. The Labeil cave, the Buddhist temple of Lerab-Ling and mystical communities lost in the rural heights of the Hérault mark the transition between Lodévois-Larzac and the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc. The long descent into the Gravezon valley offers a new diversity of tree species and crops. A gently curving route, following the twists and turns of the Monts d'Orb national forest. Joncels offers a rich heritage and a welcoming, authentic stop-off point in the footsteps of the Compostela pilgrims. Lunas, a village of character at the confluence of the Gravezon and Nize valleys, offers a refreshing break.
The steep climb to the Dio plateau offers fine views of the Rocher du Redondel. The route then becomes gentler through the forest and across the plateau to the heights of Dio, offering great views of the rest of the programme. Arriving at Dio is a visual shock: sheltered by white limestone cliffs and emerging from the red earth characteristic of the area around the Lac du Salagou, the village nestles beneath the imposing silhouette of its castle, a veritable fortress of legend. From Dio, you glide gently between red ruffes and vineyards towards the Orb valley, at the Mirande bridge: the separation between the northern and southern branches of Passa Meridia is there! The landscape and heritage of the Grand Orb and Avants-Monts regions are waiting to be explored. The descent to Faugères, via the windmills of the Domaine des Trois Tours, will take you to an exceptional vineyard.
From Faugères to Aigues-Vives, from magnificent vineyards to characterful hamlets, you'll travel through 1,000 years of history. The hills and landscapes of Languedoc await you as you discover the Biterrois plain. From hamlet to hamlet, the stage is a sporting one, with remarkable landscapes and views of the Caroux and Espinouse. A particular highlight is the descent to Roquebrun, the "Little Nice" of the Hérault. An exceptional climate, unique Mediterranean flora, and the gentle banks of the Orb....
From the radiant village of Roquebrun, you'll follow the meandering Orb before tackling a technical and physical climb. A diversion to the summit of the Pic de Naudech (755m) is a must: an exceptional panorama and a Mecca for enduro mountain biking! After breathtaking views of the Caroux and the mountains and valleys of western Hérault, you'll finish the stage in Olargues, listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France". You'll love wandering through the narrow streets of this medieval village perched on a rocky outcrop on the banks of the River Jaur, and crossed by the Passa Païs, the greenway of the Haut Languedoc.
From one "Most Beautiful Village in France" to the next, it's a sporting challenge and a complete change of atmosphere between the coolness of the Jaur valley and the limestone landscapes and vineyards of the Minervois. To start with, you have to climb back up to the Col de la Bacoulette: if you missed the diversions to the Pic de Naudech, you've got a second chance to enjoy the view! The route then moves on to long tracks leading from pass to pass, sometimes over open terrain open to the wind. Still in the heart of the Avants-Monts national forest, the deciduous and coniferous trees give way to pastures grazed by horses, cows and other ruminants. After passing through some of the ten hamlets in the commune of Pardailhan, still famous today for the black turnip of the same name, the route gives way to an ethereal landscape set on a limestone plateau. Minerve, the jewel in the crown of the Hérault's historical and natural heritage. The Grand Site de la Cité de Minerve, Gorges de la Cesse et du Brian (Grand Site of the City of Minerve, Gorges of the Cesse and the Brian) allows you to admire landscapes where scrubland, vineyards, dry stone and numerous ancestral remains alternate, forming a whole of exceptional heritage value.
From the City of Minerve to the source of the Cesse at Ferrals-les-Montagnes, this stage is a testimony to the past in a preserved natural area. Panoramic views over the Languedoc valley, the Montagne Noire and the Pyrenees accompany you for much of the way. On the south-western fringes of the Hérault, the Passa Meridia is nearing its end, but there's no room for your legs or your eyes to relax. From Cassagnoles to the mountains of Félines-Minervois, through vineyards and forests of diverse species, passing through remarkable historic and heritage sites. Incarnate red marble is the king of the last stage: from Versailles to the Louvre, it has given this region international renown. The arrival at the chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Cros marks the end of the tour, and we mustn't forget to finish off by exploring the medieval streets and Renaissance architecture of the remarkable village of Caunes-Minervois.
The Passa Meridia SUD is complete, but it would be a shame not to continue along the Aude to the city of Carcassonne! Enjoy the banks of the Canal du Midi, the pretty village of Trèbes and the famous medieval town... and get to Carcassonne station for a 100% car-free holiday! From Caunes-Minervois to Carcassonne, the route is not signposted, but takes in pretty country roads and the banks of the Canal du Midi: you're on the Car-Free Nature Escapade route between the Grands Sites "Béziers - Canal du Midi", "Cité de Minerve, Gorges de la Cesse et du Brian" and "Cité de Carcassonne". Another great, easier itinerary to plan!
Before heading back to the SNCF station, you'll need to spend a day at the end of your stay to make the most of the Cité and the bastide. All that's left for you to do is take the train back to Lunel in comfort, with no carbon footprint, and enjoy the scenery!