The Languedoc-Roussillon region was one of the earliest to be inhabited by humans and, located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean , was an extremely important trade route and passage.

The Roman history of Languedoc-Roussillon is long and has left some spectacular traces. The names of towns, the Catalan language, the region’s heady wines and olive-oil dishes all testify to the lasting influence of 400 years of occupation. It is also where the Romanesque art emerged in the early 11th C in its most impressive way ranging from little churches to large, important Cistercian abbeys. This is also a region where the “Cathars”, named after the Greek “katharos” or “pure”, fought the Catholic church of the time in the 13th C; it took many decades to exterminate this movement whose followers believed the visible world to be the work of the devil. Nowadays, many impressive fortresses perched on dizzying heights and the ancient villages still bear witness to a lost religion. There are endless places to visit, that one visit will not be sufficient.

The wealth of the natural heritage and history gives to the Pyrenees-Orientales some vast opportunities. This mix between ocean and mountains create a d iversity of landscape. This diversity relates to many natural parks unique to France , from the natural preserve submarine park of Cerbere-Banyuls to the massifs of Caniqou that you would have occasion to view from your trail. Along this natural wealth, the department is vegetated with pine forests, nut forests, oaks etc. Also from a great wealth, the archaeological heritage and historical relating from one of the oldest European ( the Man of Tautavel, 450 000 years old) to Roman and Baroque churches and fortresses.