Les Cévennes and St-Jean-du-Gard

St-Jean-du-Gard and Les Cévennes

Although Saint-Jean-du-Gard was inhabited during the the Neolithic period, the real history of this town of about 3,000 inhabitants began in the twelfth century with the founding of a monastery by Benedictines. The town was a center for Protestants in the sixteenth century. These days St-Jean-du-Gard is a good starting point to explore the Cévennes.


The Cévennes is a range of mountains in south central France that is part of the Massif Central. The highest points are Mont Lozère (1702 meters or 5584 feet) and Mont Aigoual (1567 meters or 5141 feet). The Loire River also begins in the Cévennes. The climate and vegetation are very much like Provence.

Les Camisards

Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598 granting the Huguenots (the Calvinist Protestants of France) substantial rights in a nation that was still essentially Catholic. The Edict opened the way for secularism and tolerance offering many specific concessions to the Protestants, such as amnesty and the reinstatement of their civil rights, including the right to work in any field or for the State and to bring grievances directly to the king. The Edict marked the end of the religious wars that had afflicted France during the second half of the sixteenth century. Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes of 1685 and ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches, as well as the closing of Protestant schools.


The Camisards, Huguenots living the the Cévennes, began an insurrection against the persecutions that followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The revolt by the Camisards broke out in 1702, and the troops of Louis XIV brutally suppressed the revolt, although atrocities were committed by both sides.  The worst of the fighting continued through 1704, but scattered fighting lasted until 1710 with peace finally by 1715. The name camisard comes from the Occitan language and is attributed to a type of linen smock or shirt that the peasants wore in lieu of any sort of uniform.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson made the Cévennes famous in his Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, published in 1879. Stevenson was in his late twenties when he undertook a 12-day, 120-mile solo hiking journey traversing the Cévennes. He was accompanied by Modestine, a stubborn, manipulative donkey he could never quite get the best of. At the end of the journey, Stevenson cried when he had to sell his ass.

Riding in the Cevennes

The Cevennes are definitely not flat. Although this is not the Alps or the Pyrenees, the climbs here can be quite long—up to 20 kilometers (that's 12 miles for you metrically challenged folks). There is a lot of 5 and 6% grade and on rare occasions it does get steep (10%+). There are an incredible number of back roads often with very little traffic.

I put in two 4-5 hour days here. On Monday I rode to the top of the Col des Faisses. At the top of the climb you will find a plateau that seems to stretch form miles. Tuesday was supposed to be a day with less climbing, but I actually ended up doing more. There was last climb over the Col d'Uglas was not very much fun as I was running out of water.