Nestled in the heart of the Vis gorges, a veritable canyon that cuts into the Causses du Larzac to the south of Blandas and Campestre to the north, the Cirque de Navacelles is a grandiose geological curiosity.
At a depth of 300 meters, it is more specifically a meander abandoned by the Vis, which has opened up a new, more direct course, creating a waterfall over 8 meters high.
In the center of the circus, the Rocher de la Vierge, or more familiarly “the oyster”, is surrounded by a very fertile strip of land: it is the old bed of the river. Its green meadows, the waterfall and the wooded riparian forest offer a striking contrast with the steep, arid and stony slopes of the gorges.
Cirque de Navacelles © Syndicat Mixte Grand Site Navacelles
Men settled very early in this place conducive to agriculture where their facilities (terraces, maintenance of the meadow, fields in strips) and the dwellings grouped into three islets coiled on the edges of the meander and along the Vis, give the site its human scale.
The emotion offered by the discovery of this site is all the more striking by its approach from the viewpoints of Blandas and Baume Auriol after crossing vast expanses of arid Caussenardes.
Thus the Grand Site of Navacelles is not limited only to its circus; it includes the gorges of the Vis and the causses, vast expanses of steppe born from the agro-pastoral activity carried out by man.
For more info: https://www.cirquenavacelles.com/