Tharaux, Cèze river

From the heights of a rocky outcrop, the little village of Tharaux presents proudly its old traditional stones houses,

the vestiges of its prehistoric and medieval past as well as the church with frescoes of the 17 th century.
At the corner of its narrow alleys which offer cool ans shade, Tharaux has successfully preserved its character as a protected site.

the village offers a marvelous panoramic view
of the entry into the river Cèze’s gorges, over its fertile plain
and the mountains of the Cévennes range and the Ardèche country.

The vestiges of the past and the natural heritage both encourage our guests to do lots of hiking and to be physically active through sport and recreation, not to mention swimming !
Following the hiking trails starting from the village (27 different hiking trails, a topo guide is provided), you may discover the typical vegetation of this country, its fauna and flora which is especially rich and partly protected. The trails will lead you through deeply shaded valleys to the gorges of the river “Cèze” or to an old roman road, the “Voie Romaine Antonine”.
you will find swallow-holes and caves (grotte des Fées, Aven Grégoire), dolmens, clapas, mas (traditional farm in the Cévennes)

The river Cèze will offer you a great variety of activities:

You can refresh yourself by diving into the water, particularly at a place called “trou de la Lune” which opens onto the entry of the “grotte des fées”, which is visited by expert speleologists througout all the year.
You might go canoeing and gold-washing as well as a mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing and canyoning.

The locals :

Tharausiens, Tharaudais, Tha..rés ?
We never had any official name… The people of Tharaux intend to be free of any conformism !
….“Tharaux, a small Gallic village”….wrote the newspaper “le Monde” in May 2002 !

Conviviality, good living, village aperitifs, game of “Petanca” mixing up different generations, intercultural exchanges between old etablished families and newcomers, summer music events with rivalizing parties : The greatest living artists and the locals playing in the same concert…

Our children run at large, joining in with the dogs. The river “Cèze” is an ideal place for games and recreational activities.

“Tharaux: A little mountain village which thinks differently”!!