The best MTB trails around Badaroux

The charming town lies in the heart of the department and is considered the gateway to the . The old town delights with narrow alleys, the imposing cathedral, and cozy squares. Hikers particularly appreciate the surrounding mountains, gorges, and the tranquil atmosphere of Southern France with its vast landscapes.

The Gestapo raged here too.

An unassuming memorial to a Resistance fighter

Mende is the most important town in the Lozère department. It is a truly ancient city, as its foundation dates back to 200 years BC. Its many medieval buildings are its reputation. You can discover, among other things, its superb cathedral which has the strange peculiarity of having unequal bell towers. The town owes its wealth in part to its production of draperies, and thus becomes an important commercial crossroads between the Languedoc and Auvergne regions. I particularly like its fountain with its massive stone ball rolling on itself in the water.

Beautiful old town with a very good shopping street to stroll around and a beautiful large church

Very pretty forest path, rolling, on the side of the Causse de Mende

On the Causse de Mende, above the town, there are two villages which were sold to the State by their last inhabitants in 1905: Gerbal and La Chaumette. At this date, there remains an inhabitant in Gerbal and a family in La Chaumette. We are far from the fifteen families who lived here at the beginning of the 19th century. These villages lived off the breeding of sheep and the cultivation of wheat. But from the 16th century, the demand for wool exploded in Europe. The herds are growing, which leads to the deforestation of more and more areas and the exhaustion of land. It is therefore depleted and leached land which is ceded to the State, which establishes the current forest there. Of these villages there remain the ruins of the dwellings, with the exception of a Chaumette complex restored by the ONF in the 1960s. These houses, entirely in limestone, are models of the Caussenard habitat. The main building has two levels, ground floor housing and the floor dedicated to storage, is accompanied by a sheepfold surmounted by its barn. All of these constructions are made of stone, there is no wood of sufficient quality and size or at too high a cost. There were only two villages because there are only two sources of water, which had to supplement several cisterns and lavognes (artificial pond to water the cattle).

On the Causse de Mende, above the town, there are two villages which were sold to the State by their last inhabitants in 1905: Gerbal and La Chaumette. At this date, there remains an inhabitant in Gerbal and a family in La Chaumette. We are far from the fifteen families who lived here at the beginning of the 19th century. These villages lived off the breeding of sheep and the cultivation of wheat. But from the 16th century, the demand for wool exploded in Europe. The herds are growing, which leads to the deforestation of more and more areas and the exhaustion of land. It is therefore depleted and leached land which is ceded to the State, which establishes the current forest there. Of these villages there remain the ruins of the dwellings, with the exception of a Chaumette complex restored by the ONF in the 1960s. These houses, entirely in limestone, are models of the Caussenard habitat. The main building has two levels, ground floor housing and the floor dedicated to storage, is accompanied by a sheepfold surmounted by its barn. All of these constructions are made of stone, there is no wood of sufficient quality and size or at too high a cost. There were only two villages because there are only two sources of water, which had to supplement several cisterns and lavognes (artificial pond to water the cattle).