Roadtrip to the Cévennes by campervan

Travelling to the Cévennes is like taking several trips in one, between the wilderness of the Massif Central, with its mountains, causses and canyons and a more Mediterranean atmosphere in the south with the vineyards, the garrigue and olive groves.

The southern entrance into the Cévennes National Park, Ganges in the Hérault department or Anduze in the Gard, is located only a few dozen kilometres away from Montpellier or Nîmes. Not far from Ganges, you’ll find the Cirque de Navacelles, between the Causse du Larzac and the Causse de Blandas, with its astonishing incised meander created by the Vis River. If you enter the park by Anduze, make sure to visit la Bambouseraie de Prafrance (bamboo park) where, despite the name, there aren’t only bamboo trees. Then, follow your instincts; that’s what campervan trips are all about. The Cévennes encompass great natural sites such as the famous Gorges du Tarn that separate the Causse de Sauveterre and the Causse Méjean, these entirely wild, dry limestone plateaux, kingdom of sheep and Przewalski’s horses, the Abîme de Bramabiau where the river Le Bonheur disappears underground before resurging a little further away in the cliff, the Dargilan Cave on the site of the Gorges de la Jonte where you can also visit the Maison des Vautours (vulture museum), the Grotte de Trabuc, the Grotte de Salamandre, in Méjannes-le-Clap. After the subterraneous world, you may feel the need for the exhilaration of the summits. No problem, the Mont Lozère and the Finiels summit await you with its 1,699 metres, making it the peak of the Cévennes or the Mont Aigoual (1,565 m) whose summit you can reach in your campervan. A breath-taking view awaits you, overlooking the entire Southern Massif Central, the Alps, the Mediterranean and even the Pyrenees. To do so, you will need clear weather but you should have the time to wait for it in your comfy campervan. In the summer, it is the starting point for outstanding forest walks, towards the cévenoles valley. In wintertime, you can enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing, at the ski resort of Prat-Peyrot. Travel over the Corniche des Cévennes between Saint-Jean du Gard and Florac, two small towns revealing the diversity of the Cévennes. The Corniche dominates the Vallée Française where one of the Gardons flows, the tributaries of the Gard. Make the most of the beautiful natural pools for pleasant swims. The Vallée Française was a high place of the revolt of the Camisards, the Protestants persecuted in the early 18th century. During your road-trip in van with lifting roof, you will discover villages that have kept all of their charm of yesteryear: Barre des Cévennes, Bédouès and its surprising fortified church, Cocurès, Génolhac, Pont de Montvert, in the Haut Gévaudan, Saint-André de Valborgne, Vézénobres and its Château de Girard, between the Cévennes and the Provence, Sainte-Enimie in the Gorges du Tarn and La Garde-Guérin, a medieval village overlooking the Chassezac canyon, both labelled Plus Beaux Villages de France (France’s most beautiful villages). The Cévennes are particularly well-suited for trekking, with the legendary Stevenson Trail (GR70), named after the writer who travelled the region on foot, in 1878, with his donkey Modestine, who became the mascot of the Cévennes Park. Stevenson related this adventure, between Puy en Velay and Alès, in a book entitled Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, a title that couldn’t be more explicit. You can also follow the trail of the Camisards on the Chemin Camisard, by foot or bike, on roads that follow the trail as closely possible. The Cévennes are also the kingdom of white water sports, such a canoe-kayak, canyoning, and fishing. We suggest you set off on your Cévennes campervan adventure from our WeVan branch in Montpellier.