Cascade des Jarrauds

Saint-Martin-Château

In a wooded gorge below Saint-Martin-Château, the Maulde, which rises at Gentioux-Pigerolles, tumbles some fifteen metres down a chaos of granite: the Cascade des Jarrauds, one of the finest waterfalls in the Limousin, is the third site in the Creuse to be listed for the beauty of its landscape. It is also a landmark in French industrial history. Bourganeuf, lit from 1886 thanks to the modest stream of the Verger, ran short of water in summer; the engineer Marcel Deprez then directed, from 1886 to 1889, a pioneering project: a hydroelectric plant equipped with a 130-horsepower turbine was installed at the falls, and its current carried 14 kilometres by a simple cable 5 millimetres in diameter. In 1889, Bourganeuf thus became the first town in France lit by electricity generated at a distance — 106 street lamps came on in its streets — a feat completed by the first telephone line in the region, linking the plant to the town. The installations at Les Jarrauds and Bourganeuf were the first in France where electricity was transmitted over such a distance: the adventure of "white coal" began in this Creuse valley, where the walker today discovers, near the roar of the water, the traces of that forgotten conquest.

Getting there : From the village of Saint-Martin-Château, a path leads to the foot of the falls; car park and picnic area nearby; spectacular flow after rain

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound