Walking holiday, Larzac Templars, Sorgues Valley, Roquefort  

Pays de Roquefort, Parc des Grands Causses
Sud-Aveyron

Moderate walking holiday in Pays de Roquefort.

• 7 to 10 days "plus" packages with bags transfer.
• Extension of your journey is possible in any of the hotels of the trip for an extra walking day or for a restday.
• Demi pension (dinner+B&B).

• Hotels with toilet and shower/bath en suite in room.
• Start and end in St.Affrique from March 15^th to October 31^st.
• Bags transfers included.
• Not included: Lunches. Price of lunches (take away picknicks) : €8 - €13.
• This walk H29 is a  Plus (**&*** hotels)  package. (There is a standard package version of this walk!)
• Starting day: every day of the week.
• Day distances: 15-24 km;
• Walking grade:  3 - 4  (... of 7).

From St.Affrique you'll walk over de Causse du Larzac and the mountains in the Grands Causses of Sud-Aveyron. You'll walk over the Plateau de Guilhaumard with its flower abundance, where you'll be walking in the headland of the Hauts de Languedoc. You walk to the Cistercian Abbaye de Sylvanès, with its beautiful "Abbatiale" where yearly the International Festival of Sacred Music is being held.
A main Bhouddist centre has been established in this remote part of the Massif Central, a open wooded mountainous region with lots of rivers and beautiful nature. Most of the time views in all directions because you will be walking on crests.

You will stay in three guesthouses, charming and remote old manors.  At the *** guesthouse Château de Sorgues you will be at the resurging of the Sorgue underground river.
Via the causse du Larzac and Roquefort, (visit of cheese cellars) you'll walk back to your starting hotel in St.Affrique.
You might hike for hours without meeting anyone except some shephards with their sheep.

We can arrange for a stage via Templars country at Ste.Eulalie-de-Cernon if you're interested.

See a description and  pictures of the scenery you'll be walking in.

http://www.tourisme-aveyron.com/visite_virtuelle/index_uk.htm

St.Affrique is the starting place of this walk; a small town with 9000 inhabitants.  
 

You will be staying  in ** hotels in:

• St. Affrique: ** Hôtel le Moderne

• A guesthouse  (St.Etienne) near Gissac **/***

• Château de Sorgues *** 

• A guesthouse near Roquefort (St.Jean d'Alcas ***)

We recommend extra days in:

• Gissac (circuit-walk to the Abbey of Sylvanès)

• Château de Sorgues (circuit-walk from the resurgence of an underground river to the Guilhaumard plateau)

• St. Jean d'Alcas (for extra time to visit Roquefort caves and the cirque de Tournemire (foothills of the Causse du Larzac)

The site http://picasaweb.google.com/Bousiquier/Aveyron2007 provides many pictures of towns and villages you'll see in this walk, (Camarès, Brusque, Abbaye de Sylvanès, le Rougier, Eglise Russe, St.Affrique).