We are not far from Brioude, and with the help of the House of birds and nature of Lavoûte-Chilhac, we slipped into the shoes of a gold digger! Where ? In Chilhac, a small town nestled in the heart of the gorges.
Neither one nor two, we were in the bed of the river armed with our pans, in search of the precious golden metal.
What, gold in the Allier River?
With our feet in the water, we therefore went in search of gold and semi-precious minerals in the bed of this tumultuous river with silver reflections that is the Allier. Naturally a little clumsy with our pan, Timothée taught us the gestures of leisure gold panning and the technique of extracting his marvelous pebbles, before being able to observe them under a magnifying glass.
Discovering the fauna and flora that inhabit the river
Then, aboard our canoes, we then met Pierre, on his floating scientific base. With the strange tools of explorers that he hides on board his boat, theAllierypso, he answered all our questions about the river and its aquatic inhabitants. Beaver, otter and the hydrology of the Allier no longer held any secrets for us!
A leap in history thanks to the Museum of Paleontology
Finally, we climbed into the village of Chilhac in search of the mammoth and the fabulous Mastodonte d'Auvergne, king of the Paleontology Museum from the community. We were even able to slip into the skin of a paleontologist by undertaking excavations!
Chilhac, a small city of character that is good to visit
And as we asked for more, we tested 2 ways of exploring this Small City of Character with the charm of yesteryear and its impressive basalt organs: in digital mode with the visit circuit and in the old way, through a treasure hunt set up by the association Feet on the ground. Phew! Fortunately, the beaches below the village offered us some respite. After the effort, we are always entitled to a little comfort...
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