By road it's 24km up the beautiful valley of the Tarnon to the Col de Perjuret, where a right turn will take you on to the Causse Méjean and to the strange rock formations of Nîmes-le-Vieux, and a left turn along a rising ridge a further 15km to the 1565-metre summit of Mont Aigoual (GR6, GR7, GR66), from where, they say, you can see a third of France, from the Alps to the Pyrenees, with the Mediterranean coast from Marseille to Sète at your feet. It's not a craggy summit, although the ground drops away pretty steeply into the valley of the River Hérault on the south side, but the view and the sense of exposure to the elements is dramatic enough. At the summit is an observatory which has been in use for over a century. A small but interesting exhibition (May–Sept daily 10am–6pm; free) shows modern weather-forecasting techniques alongside displays of old barometers and weather vanes. The observatory also harbours a CAF refuge and gîte d'étape (tel 04.67.82.62.78; closed Oct–April).The descent to Le Vigan by the valley of the Hérault is superb; a magnificent twisty road follows the deepening ravine through dense beech and chestnut woods, to come out at the bottom in rather Italianate scenery, with tall, close-built villages and vineyards beside the stream. The closest accommodation to the summit is the Hôtel du Touring et de l'Observatoire (tel 04.67.82.60.04, fax 04.67.82.65.09; €30–40; restaurant menus from €11–18.50) at L'ESPÉROU, a rather soulless mountain resort just below the summit. Better to go down to the charming village of VALLERAUGUE, with its brown-grey schist houses and leafy riverside setting. There are a number of hotels here, including the welcoming Petit Luxembourg (tel 04.67.82.20.44, fax 04.67.82.24.66; 2; menus €13–30).
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