Baumes' Circus

Discover the Baumes’ circus in the Tarn river Canyon

The Baumes’ circus

The Baumes circus takes its name from the balms (from the Occitan Baumas meaning caves) carved by erosion and wind. The Cirque des Baumes is an ideal place for a discovery hike in the heart of the Tarn river Canyon. Located below the Point Sublime viewpoint, a 360-degree panorama of the most exceptional, the Cirque des Baumes will allow you to meet the cliffs where hundreds of birds nest, and an exceptional heritage with chapels, ruinous rocks and "balms", i.e. caves. The Cirque des Baumes runs along the Tarn rocky ledge, where outdoor activities are preferred, particularly in terms of climbing. In spring, you may spot famous wild orchids, including the famous Lady’s slipper (Venus’ clog in French), very rare in France.

 

The Baumes Chaudes’ Cave

The Baumes Chaudes’ cave is internationally recognized by specialists for having been a habitat of the Chase civilization: the first hunter-gatherers. Excavated by the famous Doctor Prunière between 1875 and 1883, it revealed an ossuary of more than 300 individuals. They were small, with very distinct morphological characteristics: a narrow and elongated face, a bulging forehead and protruding nose, which would lead the anthropologist P. Broca to speak of "the Baumes Chaudes’race". This theory was quickly decried. Today, the bones are kept at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, and scientists are still leaning between the hypothesis of a group of individuals without specificity or a group originating from Aquitaine or the Mediterranean. Dozens of these individuals bear traces of trepanation, it remains still unknown whether it was a medical or a cultural act, and most of them survived this treatment.