Si beau Sidobre : de granite et de légendes

The Leetchi crowdfunding campaign to support our content creation: https://www.leetchi.com/fr/c/velorand... Discover the most beautiful sights of the Sidobre plateau in the Tarn region. This mid-mountain region, located south of the Massif Central near Castres, is a granite territory 15 km long and up to 7 km wide, covered in forests. The massif, whose altitude ranges from 400 to 707 meters, comprises a collection of granite boulders. A place of legends, the Sidobre site is unique in Europe for its size and the diversity of its strangely shaped rocks. These are known as granite chaos. This is an important area for quarrying and shaping granite for funerary monuments, paving, road construction, and more. Our route begins in the village of Lacrouzette, at the gateway to the Sidobre region, and leads to its cross and orientation table (built around 1995), offering a beautiful view of the Montagne Noire and the Pyrenees. Nearby is the famous Peyro Clabado (from the Occitan Pèira Clavada: nailed stone), a 780-ton block (not 170 tons as stated in the video) balanced on a natural base. Head towards Lac du Merle, passing near the Resse rock formation, a chaotic jumble of boulders sculpted by erosion, which have tumbled down the slopes and settled into the beds of streams and rivers. A popular tourist destination, Lac du Merle, from which rounded rocks emerge, was created in 1875 at the request of Jean-Louis Combes, a wealthy industrialist, to enhance his estate. A haven of peace, shrouded in morning mist or bathed in the pink glow of sunset, this lake is adorned with a multitude of water lilies. It is a paradise for birds and aquatic wildlife, and a source of mystery, melancholy, and romance. After the long trek through the forest, we arrive at the Sentier des Merveilles (Trail of Wonders), another major tourist attraction on the plateau. It is dotted with rocks of evocative and bizarre shapes, the most famous of which is the Roc de l'Oie (Goose Rock), accompanied by the legend of a goose petrified by a magician. Other rocks with evocative names include: the Little Goose, the Mushroom, the Shark, the Wall of Death, the Imprint Cave, the Elephant, the Billiard Table, the Corridor, and the Offset Rocks… We descend, taking us back to the banks of the Agout River some 350 meters below. Along the way, we encounter one last curiosity: the Three Cheeses, an unusual plateau! Then it's a kilometer and a half along a picturesque little road to reach the bottom of the valley, passing through Thouy. We join the old railway line of the little Lacaune train, which we follow for a good two kilometers, passing through the Teillède (or Provinquières) Tunnel at 720 meters. It's unlit, so bring headlamps! Finally, we climb back up to Lacrouzette along a beautiful path alongside a stream. The hike ends where it began: in front of the Notre-Dame-du-Granit church (1892) in Lacrouzette. This is a summer hike because it's very wooded. Autumn is obviously an interesting option. No particular difficulties. Instagram: ⠀   / velorandoz   OpenStreetMap: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16... Openrunner: https://www.openrunner.com/route-deta... Energy bars and nutritional support: https://www.nutri-naturel.com/