Mont Aigoual et la forêt replantée par Georges Fabre

Valleraugue (sommet près de la limite avec la Lozère)

In the 19th century the slopes of the Aigoual were almost bare: the beech had receded, the pastures were exhausted and floods devastated the plain. The forester Georges Fabre (1844–1911) launched the reforestation in 1875. He bought about 6,600 hectares between 1875 and 1883, and the State acquired the summit on 10 May 1883. From this action was born the state forest of the Aigoual, of about 15,000 hectares. To follow the weather, Fabre and the builder Célestin-Xavier Vaussenat designed an observatory, approved in 1886; the contract was awarded in May 1887, the building was inaugurated on 18 August 1894 and official observations began on 1 December 1895. The granite tower still dominates the summit, at about 1,567 metres. Among the records: a gust of 360 km/h on 1 November 1968 and 10.39 metres of cumulative fresh snow in the winter of 1995–1996. The observatory was listed as a historic monument on 7 September 2020 and the weather station closed on 31 March 2023. The site carries no collected legend: its story is that of a mountain nursed back to health. Some details vary according to the pages (date of the wind record, altitude).

Getting there: Road D 986 from Valleraugue, or D 999 then D 986 from Nîmes by the col de la Serreyrède; on foot about 1 h from L'Espérou. Observatory-museum open from April to October according to a tourism page (hours vary, closed from November to March, to be rechecked). Coordinates: observatory (Wikipédia FR).

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

Ambient sound