Rémuzat and Saint-May: The Vultures of the Baronnies
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
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Rocher du Caire Vulture Watcher
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
2 days
Rémuzat and Saint-May: The Vultures of the Baronnies
250 + 100 XP
A colony of nine griffon vultures was put back on the cliff at Remuzat in 1995; monk vultures, which had all but vanished from France, followed in 1998, and the far rarer Egyptian vulture came back of its own accord in 2000. More than 300 birds now feed over 6,000 km2 from the Rocher du Caire, a vertical wall 125m high and a kilometre long facing the village. Up the valley, the stone village of Saint-May climbs in steps above the gorges of the Eygues.
Required Activities
1
of 3
Visit the Maison des Vautours on the place du Champ de Mars in Remuzat, watch its film and work through the exhibition, then go up to the roof terrace and find the griffons on the Rocher du Caire through the telescopes
2
of 3
Walk the path up onto the crest of the Rocher du Caire, a kilometre of clifftop 125m above the village on the old Bodon abbey plateau, and watch the griffons come up off the rock past you on the morning thermals
3
of 3
Walk up through Saint-May on its promontory to the rustic church and the inscribed fountain, then out to the cemetery built on the platform of the old keep, where the graves are crammed in at every angle, and look down the 8km defile of the Eygues gorges with only room for the river and the road
Visit the Maison des Vautours on the place du Champ de Mars in Remuzat, watch its film and work through the exhibition, then go up to the roof terrace and find the griffons on the Rocher du Caire through the telescopes
Walk the path up onto the crest of the Rocher du Caire, a kilometre of clifftop 125m above the village on the old Bodon abbey plateau, and watch the griffons come up off the rock past you on the morning thermals
Walk up through Saint-May on its promontory to the rustic church and the inscribed fountain, then out to the cemetery built on the platform of the old keep, where the graves are crammed in at every angle, and look down the 8km defile of the Eygues gorges with only room for the river and the road
Before you go
From October to March the Maison des Vautours opens only on Fridays and Saturdays, with longer hours in school holidays. Entry is free all year.
Outings with an ornithologist from Vautours en Baronnies must be booked; the tourist office also runs observation stays with binoculars provided and vulture nights.
The birds fly best on thermals from mid-morning; on a cold still morning they may not leave the cliff at all. Do not approach a feeding site or a nesting ledge.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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