What to see and do in Salles-la-Source? Follow the guide!
It’s unthinkable to visit Aveyron without making a detour to Salles-la-Source. Located between Rodez and Conques, this village is renowned in the region for its spectacular waterfall and its former 19th-century wool factory, now a museum.
Refresh at the foot of a waterfall in the heart of a village
Less than an hour from Les Calquières campsite in Aveyron, on the road to Conques, Salles-la-Source boasts an unusual feature: a monumental waterfall that falls in the middle of the village, creating a vivid and mesmerizing tableau.
Fed by an underground river, this spectacular waterfall is over 20 metres high and pours tons of water into a natural basin at the foot of a tufa cliff. The waterfall’s flow varies considerably, sometimes reaching 700 liters per second depending on the season.
Access to the waterfall is free. Although bathing is not permitted, you can still get your feet wet. A small staircase takes you up the waterfall to the upper part of the old village, where you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view.
Enjoy the peace and quiet of the village
The old village of Salles-la-Sources is also well worth a visit. With some 2,300 inhabitants, this clifftop village is spread over three levels
See also: The most beautiful villages in Aveyron
Visit the Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts
Housed in a former 19th-century woollen cloth mill with an unusual architecture (an inverted ship’s hull frame), the Salles-la-Source Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts traces the history of man in Rouergue and the rural activities of Aveyron society in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The museum is spread over four exhibition levels, with 2,000 m2 of permanent rooms. On display are almost 5,000 objects and vintage farm machinery related to working with earth, wood, stone, iron, water and animals. Another room features a reconstructed 19th-century spinning mill. Allow 2 hours for this visit, which you won’t want to miss. More info
Hiking on the corniches
Many hikers come to stretch their legs on the trails of Salles-la-Source. With 7,800 hectares, nine villages and over twenty hamlets, Salles-la-Source is one of the largest communes in the Aveyron department. Nearly two thirds of the territory occupies the western tip of the Causse Comtal, a vast limestone plateau that extends the Grands Causses.
Do: the “Les Corniches du Créneau” trail, a 10 km hike (3h30) to discover the hidden gems of the Causse Comtal(the Marcillac valley, the Laroque waterfall, the Romanesque church of Saint-Austremoine…). Departure from Salles-la-Source church square.
DID YOU KNOW? Salles-la-Source is home to the largest concentration of megaliths in France, with some 67 dolmens and over 200 tumuli erected by Neolithic man some 4,500 years ago.
Where to eat?
Restaurant La Cascade: 50 meters from the waterfall, a particularly tasty and inventive bistronomic cuisine. Chef Marine Guichou knows how to make even the finest gourmets’ taste buds travel. 26 cour de la filature, 12330 Salles-la-Source. Tel. : 05 65 67 29 08. Count €22 for the lunch menu.
Restaurant L’atelier: right next to the emblematic waterfall, a bar-restaurant where you can feast on local dishes: sausage with aligot or truffade, Aveyron salads, as well as pizzas with gizzards and duck breast. Perfect for a quick break. Rue de la cascade, 12330 Salles-la-Source. Tel. : 09 50 39 61 46. Expect to pay between €10 and €15.
photo@Krzysztof Golik/CC BY-SA 4.0/wikimedia