The best MTB trails around Vailhan

The castle overlooks Pézènes-les-Mines from the upper part of the village. This castle is private, but its facades, roofs, and enclosure have been protected as historical monuments since 1981. Its history is ancient, but the ensemble we see today is the result of several construction and transformation campaigns. The Romanesque chapel, integrated into the castle, dates back to the 12th century. Its apse was later raised in the 14th century to take on a defensive function. The castle itself underwent significant alterations in the 14th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Two gates were notably built into the enclosure in the 17th century. The defensive elements are still very legible: two gates with arrow slits controlled access to the courtyard and were once protected by a drawbridge. Two towers flank the ensemble, while the enclosure follows the natural irregularities of the terrain. The chapel also retains a rather remarkable detail: its door and some of its bays are decorated with basalt inlays, giving the building a discreet but original polychromy. Pézènes-les-Mines was not always the small village one might imagine today. Pézènes was the capital of a marquisate that grouped the communities of Pézènes, Montesquieu, and Valmascle. The castle was therefore at the heart of a larger seigneurial territory. Little-known information: A plan from 1800 shows that behind the castle stretched a long terrace of about 270 meters, arranged as a garden, promenade, and belvedere overlooking the Peyne valley.

The causse de Nizas offers a beautiful perspective on the basalt plateau called planèze. This environment is crossed by herds, the few limestone springs have been developed by lime kilns.

Caux is recognizable from afar by its church, whose bell tower can be seen. The vineyards surrounding the town make the landscape even more sublime.

Amidst the vineyards, the Saint-Jean-de-Bébian priory tells nearly a thousand years of history between religious heritage and wine culture. Occupied since the Gallo-Roman era, this terroir was then shaped by the religious who developed a priory there and cultivated the vine from the Middle Ages. After the French Revolution, the estate became private property before experiencing a new renaissance in the 20th century, participating in the revival of the great wines of Languedoc. Around the old chapel and the historic buildings, the landscape recalls that the vine is not just an agricultural activity: here it is the heir to a long human history. There is a starred restaurant.

At the turn of the relief, the lake of the Olivettes appears like a breath of fresh air in the landscapes of the Avant-Monts. The reservoir is set in a jewel box of limestone hills, where the lines of Pioch Perdut and Roc de Castel Viel structure the horizon.

The final ascent to Notre-Dame de l’Assomption marks the arrival above Vailhan. From this high point, the village and the surrounding hills reveal themselves in a calm and soothing setting. An unmissable panorama!

Mourèze is a small, picturesque village in the Hérault department of Occitanie. Nestled at the edge of a steep amphitheater of rock pillars, the village features narrow stone streets, a Gothic church, and the ruins of a small castle perched on a rocky spur. You will find a couple of restaurant, a shop selling local food produce and doubling as a tapas bar as well as a creperie (pancake) also serving sandwiches and drinks. Mourèze makes a perfect midpoint for a circular walk from Liausson: it blends dramatic geology from the Cirque de Moureze, sweeping lake views on the Lac du Salagou, and a peaceful village ambience, with several services.

I know, the hike is nice and the setting of Tiberet is pleasant.