Gentiâne en Cévennes

Nestling in a fold of the Ventalon mountain, close to Mont Lozère, the little hamlet of Castagnols is located in the Cévennes National Park. The buildings are made out of schist stone and are home to a few inhabitants and quite a few donkeys, cattle, goats and ewes who live peacefully in the midst of an environment of prairies, health land and forests of beech, birch and chestnut trees. 5 families, representing some 16 permanent inhabitants in 2011 live in the hamlet which also includes several 'holiday homes'.

The hamlet is on the commune of Vialas which is 7km west of Genolhac, a small town on the D906 between Alès and Puy-en-Velay.