The Sidobre and Castres: The 780-Tonne Balancing Rock, the Granite Chaos and Goya
Occitanie, France
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Sidobre Rock Hopper
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
The Sidobre and Castres: The 780-Tonne Balancing Rock, the Granite Chaos and Goya
225 + 100 XP
Eleven kilometres east of Castres, the Sidobre is a granite massif 15.3 km long and up to 6.6 km wide, about 102 km2, the largest set of granite rocks in France, broken into chaos and tors. The Peyro Clabado, 780 tonnes, rests on a base of one square metre, held in balance by a wedge stone that erosion shaped between block and socle. Round the Lac du Merle, dug in 1875 for the deputy Jean-Louis Combes, paths lead to the rock rivers of the Resse and Feuillebois, where the Lignon runs unseen beneath the boulders. In Castres, the bishops' palace of 1675 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart holds the Musée Goya, beside gardens drawn by André Le Nôtre.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Stand under the Peyro Clabado, 780 tonnes on a socle of one square metre, and find the wedge-shaped stone erosion left between block and base that actually holds it up, then climb the granite-boulder pyramid beside it to the orientation table and pick out the Castres plain
2
of 4
Walk round the Lac du Merle and on down the fishermen's path into the Chaos de la Resse, then stand still and listen for the Lignon running under the boulders where it has disappeared from view
3
of 4
In the Musée Goya, rebuilt and reopened in 2023 across 23 rooms of the old bishops' palace, find the three Goya canvases the museum owns outright - the Self-portrait with Spectacles, the Portrait of Francisco del Mazo and The Junta of the Philippines - then compare them with the etchings of Los Caprichos in the same museum
4
of 4
Walk the Jardin de l'Évêché behind the palace, drawn by André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV's own gardener, and find the Romanesque tour Saint-Benoît, the last standing piece of the 9th-century Benedictine abbey
Stand under the Peyro Clabado, 780 tonnes on a socle of one square metre, and find the wedge-shaped stone erosion left between block and base that actually holds it up, then climb the granite-boulder pyramid beside it to the orientation table and pick out the Castres plain
Walk round the Lac du Merle and on down the fishermen's path into the Chaos de la Resse, then stand still and listen for the Lignon running under the boulders where it has disappeared from view
In the Musée Goya, rebuilt and reopened in 2023 across 23 rooms of the old bishops' palace, find the three Goya canvases the museum owns outright - the Self-portrait with Spectacles, the Portrait of Francisco del Mazo and The Junta of the Philippines - then compare them with the etchings of Los Caprichos in the same museum
Walk the Jardin de l'Évêché behind the palace, drawn by André Le Nôtre, Louis XIV's own gardener, and find the Romanesque tour Saint-Benoît, the last standing piece of the 9th-century Benedictine abbey
Before you go
The Chaos de la Resse rock river is on private land, open on sufferance: stay on the fishermen's path, keep dogs on a lead, and note the granite is lethally slippery after rain. The trail itself is short, about 1.1 km and 25 minutes with 50 m of climb.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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