The Montagne Noire (black mountain), at the southwest tip of the Massif Central, is characterised by the intense contrast between its noth face, covered with dark forests of beech, oak, fir and spruce trees, which rises abruptly above the Thoré, and its south face, sloping gently towards the Lauragais and Minervois plains, full of broom, scrubland, vineyards and olive trees. This is the heart of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park.The local villages make nice stopovers, especially Sorèze.