Balavaud
From the lake at Tracouet, accessible by cable car, it takes a walker half an hour a to arrive at the alpine region of Balavaud with its famous larch trees. The larch tree particularly likes sun and for it to develop fully it needs around a hundred or so days of sunshine per year. It can withstand dry conditions as easily as frost but does not like misty and humid conditions. If it's habitat enables it to live freely, it can assume giant proportions, which is the case for the larch trees at Balavaud. The entire pasture area contains more than 250 trees aged between 300 to 800 years. Through their sheer size, they are classed amongst some of the biggest larch trees in Europe. One particular tree, with a diameter of 320cm, perhaps holds first place! Towards the end of the 70's, in order to rejuvenate the tree population, around a million young trees were planted, as being a pasture there is very little natural regeneration. In the autumn the larch trees maintain their sunny habitat. The old cheese cave of the alpine region of Balavaud dates back to 1761.