A mouflon in the park. Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park (; ) is a

regional natural park A regional nature park or regional natural park ( or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the Cabinet of France, French national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty in order to protec ...

in the south of the Massif Central within the

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

, and Tarn

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. These areas are considered the Haut-

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, compared to the Bas-Languedoc. Administered by the Federation of French Regional Nature Parks (), it was created on 22 October 1973. It has an area of 2,605 km², with 82,000 people living within its boundaries. The park (coordinates 43.52898, 2.6984) comprises a very diverse range of landscapes, which is why seven different areas have been officially defined within it: * Caroux-Espinouse *

Montagne noire The Montagne Noire (; , known as the 'Black Mountain' in English) is a mountain range in central southern France. It is located at the southwestern end of the Massif Central at the juncture of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments. Its highe ...

* Monts de Lacaune * Monts d'Orb * Plateau des Lacs *

Sidobre The Sidobre is a mountainous area located in the south of the Massif central, in central France. It consists of a plateau made of granite, 15.3 km long, 6.6 km wide and covered with forests. Its highest point is in the ''lieu-dit'' “L ...

* Vignes et Vallées The park provides a habitat for more than 240 species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

, in a stunningly diverse range of

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

and scenery. It also provides a home for

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domest ...

s, successfully reintroduced from

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

External links

Official website
Haut-Languedoc Geography of Aveyron Geography of Hérault Geography of Tarn (department) Protected areas established in 1973 Tourist attractions in Occitania (administrative region) Tourist attractions in Aveyron Tourist attractions in Hérault Tourist attractions in Tarn (department) {{Europe-protected-area-stub