Châtaignier « Le Tronc »

Saint-Maurice-de-Ventalon

Nestled in a very old chestnut grove below the hamlet that bears its name, this sweet chestnut with its short, tortured and largely hollow trunk, from which only a few vigorous shoots still emerge, is considered the largest specimen recorded in Lozère, with a girth of 10.60 m measured in July 2016 by the association Les Têtards arboricoles, which puts its age at around 500 years. The tree is the object of a discreet but very real local veneration: offerings are regularly left at its base, a sign of a popular attachment that endures in these Cévennes where for centuries the chestnut has been the nourishing "bread tree" of the villages. Access remains deliberately difficult, on foot (formerly by mule), at the end of a steep descent into the Cougnet valley.

Getting there : in a chestnut grove below the hamlet of Le Tronc, commune of Saint-Maurice-de-Ventalon (Lozère Cévennes), reached on foot by a steeply descending path in the Cougnet valley

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

Ambient sound