The Botanical Trail and its Variant
3.5km + (variant 3.5km) | 135m ascent
Starting point: Bergerie du Bois du Chapitre (Montréal d’Aude)
In this wood with remarkable botanical riches, interpretive furniture punctuate your walk along the Botanical Trail – an immersion in the heart of the Massif de la Malepère where you discover a great diversity of flora in an informative and fun way. So bring your botanist magnifying glass with you and pass the four gates of the Botanical Trail to the Saut-Cani waterfall!
Laurac Historical Interpretive Trail
5km + (variante 2km) | 175m ascent
Starting point: Information sign, Place des Mares (Laurac le Grand)
Laurac-le-Grand’s interpretive trail evokes the turbulent past of its lords, who were followers of Catharism, and also life in the castra in medieval times. Dive into the history and landscapes of the Cathar hills, on a route along the Tour du Lauragais and the Collines du Vent.
The Fount Picou
6km | 350m ascent
Starting point: In front of the Tourist Office Place du Treil (Fanjeaux)
This loop encircles a narrow valley that was once arable land shared by the farmers settled in the village. Each of the fields thus aligned had access or “not” from the path; a stone hut, flanked by traditional cypress, allowed the farmer and his animals to take a well-earned rest, once the work was completed..
Sentier des Crêtes (Ridge Trail)
8km + (variante 7km) | 160m ascent
Starting point: Mairie (town hall), Place de l’Église (Hounoux)
This hike around the village allows you to admire sumptuous landscapes ranging from the Pyrenees to the Montagne Noire. From the plain of the Lauragais to that of the Bas-Razès. The ridge lines offer a bird’s eye view of gentle rolling landscapes in the middle of which the characteristic architecture of the round villages, the Malepère’s vineyards and a patchwork of woods, meadows and bodies of water stand out. The route follows part of the GR78-7. It travels along a ridge line that is situated exactly on the watershed between the Atlantic-Mediterranean watershed. This geographical curiosity leads to a grouping of two climatic diversities which the nearby Pyrenees have an influence on. The result is an exceptionally diverse flora and fauna.
Loop of the little Saint-Christol
12km | 119m ascent
Starting point: Chapelle Saint Christol (Fonters du Razès)
At the start of the Romanesque chapel Saint-Christol this pleasant route criss-crosses the hills, pastures and woods. Discover the medieval village of Mireval-Lauragais on your way with its windmill and admire the panorama from the Crois de Caux.
The Chapel of Saint Christol (late 11th or early 12th century), typical of Roman Art in the Languedoc, is listed in the Inventory of Historic Monuments.
Sentier des Orchidées (Orchid Trail)
10km | 141m ascent
Starting point: Maison de la Randonnée (Villasavary)
The wild orchid discovery trail runs from the hillsides of Mont Carrière to those of the Canonges and offers a succession of hills and valleys where undergrowth, forests, cultivated areas, open and dry grasslands on chalky soil and wetlands alternate.
Signs and specific markings have been placed along the trail, they will guide you and help you identify the different species of orchids present onsite.
Loop of the Hille and Mont Carrière
12km | 300mD+
Starting point: In front of the Tourist Office, Place du Treil (Fanjeaux)
This loop starts with the wooded valley of the Fount Picou and then leads to the ridges of the hills. After the shady paths of the woods, the route leads to the top of the hills with magnificent panoramas of the ‘puegs’ or ‘peaks’ of the Piège, the Pyrenees, the Lauragais Plain and the Montagne Noire. At Mont Carrière, the highest point of the trail, the flora is rich in broom moorland, fragrant with thyme and lavender.
La Vallée du Lampy
12km | 300m ascent
Starting point: Place du Lavoir (Cenne-Monestiès)
From Cenne-Monestiés with a rich industrial past, to Villemagne a mid-mountain village where farming predominates, the proposed route allows the discovery of the Lampy Valley.
Landscapes and Vineyards in the Bas-Razès
16.5km | 68m ascent
Starting point: At the information sign, Grand Rue (Lasserre de Prouille)
In the heart of a gently undulating landscape with cultivated land, the ‘Landscapes and Vineyards of the Bas-Razès’ loop offers extensive views of the Pyrenees Mountains, the Lauragais Plain and the Montagne Noire. In the heart of the Razès, this country is shaped by its cultivated meadows that gradually give way to the vines and its Malepère wines with a protected designation of origin
The Way of Dominic
30km | 200 à 260m ascent
Starting point: In front of the Office de Tourisme (Fanjeaux) or Avenue du Lauragais (Montréal)
The Way of Dominic revives the history of the Cathar era, following in the footsteps of Saint Dominic between the hills of the Piège and the Malepère Massif.At the beginning of the 12th century, Dominic de Guzman, a Spanish canon, settled in Lauragais, a region where Cathar heresy was widespread. He lived there for nearly 10 years, during which he tried by his preaching to bring the ‘Good Christians’ (the Cathars) back to the Roman Catholic Church. He founded his first monastery in Fanjeaux in 1207, the Monastery of Prouilhe, where he welcomed the Cathar women he had converted. In 1216, he had the Pope recognise the Order of Friar Preachers, the future Dominicans.A route without great difficulty, which takes place mainly on country lanes through woods and vineyards and on an old railway line. This 30-km route from Fanjeaux to Montréal is offered in two loops of 15 km each.
