Haute-Loire · Velay
In the land of the Velay volcanoes
Cayres sits right in the middle of the Devès plateau, a high plateau shaped by ancient, now dormant volcanoes. A landscape to discover on foot, by bike, or simply by eye.
The Velay is one of the great volcanic lands of France, even though its volcanoes have long fallen silent. Around Cayres, the Devès plateau is dotted with dozens of “sucs”, old volcanic cones and domes that punctuate the horizon, and a few “maars”, explosion craters now filled with water.
You don't need a car to get a sense of it: the landscape around the gîte is already, in itself, a volcanic one. For those who want to go further, the plateau is well suited to walking, cycling and open viewpoints.
The Devès plateau, a landscape born of volcanoes
Several hundred thousand years ago, intense volcanic activity covered this part of the Velay with basalt flows, creating a high-altitude plateau now covered in pastures, pine forests and peat bogs.
The volcanoes here are not sharp peaks: they are gentle landforms, mounds and domes, sometimes barely visible in the landscape, sometimes clearly recognisable, like Mont Mézenc.
Mont Mézenc and the sucs, for a wider view
About 30 km away, Mont Mézenc rises to 1,753 m: the highest point of the Velay, on the border with the Ardèche, with a panorama that reaches, on a clear day, as far as the Alps.
Closer to the gîte, several smaller sucs already offer fine views over the plateau and its old craters, for a half-day outing without driving far.
Lac du Bouchet, a crater turned lake
Just 5 km from the gîte, Lac du Bouchet occupies a maar, an old explosion crater now filled with water and almost perfectly circular. It is one of the most visible traces of this volcanic past, and one of our dedicated pages is all about it.
At a glance
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Mont Mézenc
At 1,753 m, the highest point of the volcanic Velay, ~30 km away.
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Lac du Bouchet
A maar, a volcanic crater turned lake, 5 km from the gîte.
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Hiking among the sucs
Trails on the Devès plateau, between old volcanoes and pastures.
Fancy exploring the land of volcanoes?
Drop your bags at the Gîte Comme à la Maison, in the heart of the Devès plateau, and book your stay direct.