23.2 km hike in La Bastide-Puylaurent
Leaving L'Etoile park through the gate, turn left and cross the Allier River via the footbridge. Proceed to the back of the church to join the GR700 Voie Régordane, which you will follow all the way to Villefort. The path passes in front of the cemetery, then crosses the D906 to rejoin the old road a little further on. Two kilometres later, turn right and ascend to the hamlet of Thort, located on the watershed divide. Then pass by the Dolmen of Thort, or Palet de Gargantua, and continue straight to La Molette. After this hamlet, on the D906, the trail veers left and then right. Follow the GR700 markers to the footbridge over the Chassezac River, then pass through Albespeyres to arrive at La Garde-Guérin. The Voie Régordane then descends towards the Villefort dam. On arriving in the village, turn right and climb towards the train station located 700 metres further. Return by train (SNCF timetables).
4km - 11km - 11.2km - 14km - 15.5km - 16.3km - 19km - 21.5km - 23.2km - 24km
Distance: 23.2 km, Maximum altitude: 1,125 m, Minimum altitude: 576 m, Total elevation gain: 386 m
IGN Maps: La Bastide-Puylaurent (2738E), Mont Lozere Florac PN des Cevennes (2739OT), Largentiere La Bastide-Puylaurent Vivarais Cevenol (2838OT)
The Voie Régordane came into being long before humans, following a north–south geological fault with plate shifts that opened up passes — most notably the significant one south of Villefort, offering a low-altitude passage through a 60-kilometre barrier formed by Mont Lozère and the Mas de l'Aire range. This fault gave rise to numerous springs along the route.
The first animals instinctively took this path, moving from spring to spring and from pass to pass in a spontaneous movement of transhumance. Millennia later, humans followed, creating a drovers' road — a simple track. Some believe that tin convoys used it between the Phoenician ports of Saint-Valery-en-Caux in Normandy and Saint-Gilles. The Romans likely used it to transport metals extracted on both sides of the route, in places dedicated to the god of commerce and industry, such as Mercoire, Mercoirol, and Mercouly.
It was not yet a major route, however, until the Middle Ages, when the division of the Carolingian Empire placed the Rhône Valley in the Germanic Empire, making the Régordane Way the easternmost route of the Kingdom of France. It was during this period (12th–13th centuries) that the transport of goods developed considerably, thanks to advances in the harnessing of draught animals.
The route was laid out across the high plateaus of Thort, La Molette and La Garde-Guérin, and carved into the schist on the slopes of the Cèze valleys. In the villages along the way, houses were built over large warehouses that opened onto the main street through pointed arched doorways, remnants of which can still be seen in Génolhac in the Gard. Small carts, carrying no more than 500 kilograms due to the materials used in their construction, travelled along this route.
