The part of the Massif Central I will mention here is designated as the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Park, which lies between Clermont-Ferrand in the north and Aurillac in the south. We spent a few days exploring different parts of this park. Driving between villages, taking hikes, and trying the cheeses.
One thing I always forget about the park is that I found my favorite church there. We have seen hundreds of churches in our travels, including classic cathedrals, the painted monasteries of Romania, and the wooden orthodox churches of Slovakia and Poland. There is even the ridiculous little church in southern Mexico that has become famous solely because they charge a lot of money to get in. The only churches that might compare are the carved churches of Cappadocia, Turkey.
We came across this church quite by accident; we found it after taking a wrong turn. The church is perfectly carved from a large volcanic rock intrusion. The inside is really nothing special. There are no breathtaking paintings. No intricately made stained glass windows. It really is one of the most simple churches I have ever seen. Its unique location and construction are what make it so wonderful and special.
The views are absolutely breathtaking. The park is covered in pastures for the cattle and sheep. In fact, there are several famous cheeses that originate from this area. One of those cheeses is Salers. We visited the town of Salers to buy some of this cheese. The village itself is perched upon a small hill. When it comes to European villages, this one was like many. Streets were closed of car traffic. There was a classic central square. It was a cute village nonetheless, and the cheese was great!
We took two or three hikes during our time in the park. Considering the worn condition of these peaks, none of the hikes were particularly strenuous. We got lucky enough to have fairly good weather and visibility. It is beautiful to look out across the park from a high place and see the old volcanoes and bright green pastures.
One problem with hiking around in this park is the lack of privacy. Depending on where you hike there could be dozens of people hiking along with you. This was the case when we went to hike the volcano Le Puy Mary. So many people go to hike this volcano that they have put in stairs on the side of the mountain. Unfortunately this has not helped to prevent compaction and erosion of the adjacent hillside, because even the wide staircase is not large enough to accommodate all the people. This particular hike is fairly steep. Not long, but it is still a bit of a work out.
From the top of Le Puy Mary we were not able to see anything because a small cloud had gotten stuck on its peak. The base of the volcano was quite high as well though, and the view was wonderful as the sun set on the park.
