Les Bondons: the puechs and the Eschino d'aze

The superb landscape dominating the cham (small causse) of Les Bondons contains two natural eccentricities: the Eschino d’aze (donkey’s spine) ridge and the puechs of Les Bondons, two conical buttes of black marl.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, these geological curiosities were called the Puech d’Allègre and the Puech de Mariette, puech coming from the Latin podium, meaning elevated ground. They have since been rebaptised Truc de Miret and Truc des Bondons.

These two limestone buttes withstood erosion thanks to the presence of harder rocks on the surface, which protected the marl beneath. With the nearby ridge, they dominate the Tarn valley.

The puechs and rocky ridge have also been given an origin in legend: when scraping his clogs clean, Gargantua is supposed to have dropped the detritus that they contained, thus shaping the Eschino d’aze and the two puechs.