The Gorges du Tarn: Sainte-Énimie and the Causse Walls
Occitanie, France
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Tarn Gorge
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
1 day
The Gorges du Tarn: Sainte-Énimie and the Causse Walls
250 + 100 XP
Between Quézac and Le Rozier the Tarn has cut 53 kilometres of canyon through the limestone and dolomite of the Grands Causses, 400 to 600 m deep, between the Causse Méjean and the Causse de Sauveterre. Sainte-Énimie, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, sits where the faults that cross the causse bring out two very powerful springs, the Burle and the Coussac, the second of them falling straight into the Tarn in a cascade. Griffon, black and Egyptian vultures work the thermals above the walls, and in the bad season wallcreepers and alpine accentors come down to winter on them.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Drive the gorge road from Sainte-Énimie down to Les Vignes and tick off the set-pieces in order — the cirque of Saint-Chély-du-Tarn, the cirque of Pougnadoires, the Pas de Soucy where the river vanishes under a boulder field and comes out again further on, and the Point Sublime above the Cirque des Baumes
2
of 4
Walk the cobbled lanes of Sainte-Énimie to the three rooms left of its fortified abbey — the entrance, the crypt and the chapter house — then find the Burle spring, in which the Merovingian princess is said to have been cured of leprosy and which gave the village its first name, Burlatis, and climb to the cave hermitage above
3
of 4
Paddle a canoe through Les Détroits, the narrowest part of the gorge and reachable only by boat — 500 m of rock above you and barely 1,200 m between the rims of the two causses overhead
4
of 4
Work the cliffs with binoculars for the birds that live on them: griffon, black and Egyptian vultures riding the thermals in any season, and in winter the wallcreeper and the alpine accentor that come down to the rock faces
Drive the gorge road from Sainte-Énimie down to Les Vignes and tick off the set-pieces in order — the cirque of Saint-Chély-du-Tarn, the cirque of Pougnadoires, the Pas de Soucy where the river vanishes under a boulder field and comes out again further on, and the Point Sublime above the Cirque des Baumes
Walk the cobbled lanes of Sainte-Énimie to the three rooms left of its fortified abbey — the entrance, the crypt and the chapter house — then find the Burle spring, in which the Merovingian princess is said to have been cured of leprosy and which gave the village its first name, Burlatis, and climb to the cave hermitage above
Paddle a canoe through Les Détroits, the narrowest part of the gorge and reachable only by boat — 500 m of rock above you and barely 1,200 m between the rims of the two causses overhead
Work the cliffs with binoculars for the birds that live on them: griffon, black and Egyptian vultures riding the thermals in any season, and in winter the wallcreeper and the alpine accentor that come down to the rock faces
Before you go
Canoe hire on the Tarn runs from spring to early autumn, and May, June, September and October give the quietest water and the emptiest roads. The wallcreepers and alpine accentors come down onto the cliffs in the bad season instead, roughly November to February, when the canoes are off the river.
Canoe hire on the Tarn is seasonal and the companies set off from fixed points with a shuttle back, so book the Détroits section ahead rather than turning up — and go with the hirer's advice on the water level, which swings hard after rain. The gorge roads, the D907bis above all, are narrow, walled and busy in July and August, with few places to pass a coach, so take a long motorhome through early in the day and park at Sainte-Énimie rather than driving into the village. The corniche paths on the Causse Méjean side run along the edge of the drop and are not for small children.
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About Occitanie
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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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