Cirque de Navacelles

The Vis carved a deep meander into the limestone causse and then broke through the narrow neck of it, taking a shorter course and leaving the old loop dry: what remains is a near-circular canyon about three hundred metres deep and a kilometre and a half across, with a rock hump in the middle where the neck used to be, and the hamlet of Navacelles sitting on the abandoned bed beside a waterfall. It is one of the clearest examples of an abandoned meander anywhere. Belvederes on both rims give the whole shape, and a steep hairpin road drops to the hamlet. The site is part of the UNESCO Causses and Cevennes listing.

What you actually see

• The circular canyon - a three-hundred-metre deep abandoned river loop.
• The central hump - the rock the river cut through and left behind.
• The hamlet - a few houses and a waterfall on the old riverbed.
• The two belvederes - viewpoints on the Herault and Gard rims.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer is hot with no shade on the causse and the hamlet has almost no parking. The descent road is narrow with tight hairpins.

Honest expectations

The road down is steep and narrow with limited passing and very little parking at the bottom. The hamlet has one or two seasonal cafes and nothing else. The plateau approach is long and empty.

Nearby

Saint-Guilhem lies southeast; the Larzac plateau is northwest.