The Monts de l'Espinouse form the most dramatic part of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc, rising sharply from the garrigue plains to form a brooding limestone plateau. The scenery is rougher and wilder than the wine country to the south — all chestnut forest, moor, and wind-scoured ridge.
Mont Caroux, the highest point, can be reached from St Pons de Thomières via Fraisse, from Olargues, or from the spa town of Lamalou-les-Bains to the east. A side road to the well-preserved village of Douch gives access to a footpath that climbs to the summit — the view south over the plains to the Mediterranean is not apparent until you reach the top, and it is superb.