Peret Bel Air Sentier De La Tourbière 2016Peret Bel Air Sentier De La Tourbière 2016
©Peret Bel Air Sentier De La Tourbière 2016|OT Ventadour-Egletons-Monédières/Studio Photo Agnoux
The Plateau of Millevaches

The Plateau of Millevaches

Once upon a time, in the heart of France, a preserved territory with remarkable natural spaces … the Plateau of Millevaches !

The Plateau de Millevaches is composed of 3 departments: the Haute-Vienne, the Creuse, but also and especially the Corrèze, which concentrates three-quarters of the 3300 km² surface of the Plateau.

Moorlands, forests, peat bogs …Many exceptional natural environments compose the Plateau of Millevaches. A richness of flora but also of fauna, with each step that you make: otters, rare butterflies, pearl mussels and other boreal tits cohabit on this large space of nature.

 

Some villages in the Ventadour-Egletons-Monédières territory “belong” to this vast unspoilt natural area known as the Plateau of Millevaches. Thus, from Péret-Bel-Air and its “Col de la Blanche” bog, to Chaumeil, passing through Saint-Yrieix-le-Déjalat, the Plateau of Millevaches can be discovered and offers unique sensations to lovers of wide open spaces.

You can admire it for example on foot, mountain bike or on horseback, thanks to hundreds of especially designed hiking trails, which are a real invitation to discover this particular nature. A digital application called “Rando Millevaches” which can be downloaded via Apple Store or Google, allows beginners and experienced hikers to discover all the hiking trails available on the Plateau of Millevaches in Limousin.

“And where are the thousand cows ?”

In French language, Millevaches means “Thousand cows”. Like many, we think that the name Millevaches refers to those horned animals we love. But no ! The name Millevaches is the subject of several etymologies:

  • A Gallo-Roman etymology: melo (meaning high place) and vacua (meaning empty)

  • An Occitan etymology:mille vacca meaning a thousand sources. This version is the most popular because it values ​​the water resources that the Plateau has. For example, the Corrèze River has its source on the Plateau de Millevaches.

The Millevaches Regional Natural Park of Millevaches

The natural set of the Plateau is managed by the Regional Natural Park of Millevaches in Limousin (with headquarters in Millevaches), whose mission is to ensure the protection of natural diversity and to develop ecological and sustainable tourism.

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