An open-air leisure area!

The Causse of Mende

A SYMBOL FOR MENDOIS

The Causse spreads out south of the town of Mende.
It overlooks the city from 300 meters.
This is where the hermitage and the cave of Saint-Privat is located, a place traditionally associated with the origins of the city.

©Ermitage Vue Ciel ©villedemende (1)

Things to do in the Causse

Essential information

Today, the Causse de Mende is very popular with locals and holidaymakers.

The Causse de Mende is equipped with:

Picnic grounds,
Children’s play areas,
An acrobatic park in the forest,
A via ferrata,
A Mountain Bike Park,
Orienteering races,
An aerodrome (microlights and planes),
Many marked trails for family walks or mountain biking.

Panoramic view
The hermitage
Dead Villages
Activities on the Causse

The panorama of the Croix du Mont-Mimat

This panorama overhangs 300 meters, the city of Mende on its south side.
The scenery on a clear day is superb.
You can discover the city seen from above, but also the Margeride mountains to the north and in especially the Fortunio “Truc” with its relay antenna, recognizable from afar.

The Saint-Privat cave and chapel

According to tradition, it is in this cave that the martyrdom of Saint-Privat would have taken place.
The place is located on the edge of the ridge on the northern flank of the Causse de Mende.

It is the increasingly important pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint-Privat that is the origin of the birth and development of the city there.
Currently, the cave, the chapel and the hermitage are closed to visitors in the off-season and partially open in July and August (inquire at the parish of Mende: 04 66 49 13 99).

Dead Villages

La Chaumette and Le Gerbal are two hamlets nicknamed “dead villages” because they were gradually abandoned.
Victims of the rural exodus, they saw their population disappear throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.