Our region : Le Bas-Vivarais
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Le Bas-Vivarais consists of stony plateaux with a Mediterranean landscape. Garrigue, limestone rocks, green oaks, square houses with terraced stairways and Roman tiled roofs... all is flooded with sunlight ...
Land of natural wonders, le Bas Vivarais houses the 37 km long gorges de l'Ardèche, where caves hold stalagmites 200 000 years old cave paintings dating back to the Palaeolithic period ...
In the center of the region, ruiniform rocks, limestone caves (natural sinkholes) and valleys cut by deep gorges dominate the landscape. A few villages with limestone square houses emerge from a sea of vineyards, orchards, almond trees and cultivated terraces.
In the south, in the Ardeche valley, a lush flora made of oaks of all varieties, junipers, rockrose, boxwood, honeysuckle, lianas and clematis is home to many birds: eagles, owls, hulottes, vultures, ravens, jackdaws, marten...
In the north, a basalt block stands out of the limestone rocks. Its arid and black land, cut by valleys, is dotted with trees, moors, small cereal fields and meager pastures where lambs, horses and mules are set to graze... This rather deserted region hosts a few farms and isolated hamlets...
In the east, the "fruit valley" and its small fertile basins are filled with immense orchards. In spring, it looks like a mosaic of colors when peaches, apricots, cherries, pears, apples and grapes come out ...
Le Bas-Vivarais boasts a rich historic heritage: many archaeological sites, beautiful churches, vestiges of ramparts, beautiful castles, medieval houses, and more than 700 dolmens testifying to the way of life of men three thousand years before our era ...
Don't miss the villages with traditional architectures, they're worth the visit : Montpezat-sous-Bauzon, Lablachère, Saint-Genest -de-Beauzon ...
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