The Korrigans of TraouïéroA valley where nature and legend meet

The Korrigans of Traouiéro

Brilliant sunshine this morning! Perfect conditions for a bit of a stroll. My friends from Doubs, who arrived a week ago, know the GR34 and our lovely beaches like the back of their hands. But there’s one place they haven’t been to yet – covering no less than 57 hectares – which combines nature, history and legend… a real gem that they’re bound to love. I’m talking about the magnificent Traouïero Valley.

Getting there

Nature walk

I’m not sure whether to go on this trip on my own. In the end, I decide to go on a guided tour – you learn and discover so much more that way! I check the guidebook *Les espaces naturels s’animent* to find out the timings. It’s perfect: there’s one in two hours’ time!
Hiking boots on, camera and bottle of water in my rucksack, off we go. We meet at one of the entrances to the Vallée des Traouiéro, between the village of Trégastel and the Ploumanac’h tide mill. Oh look, we’ll have to visit that one too!

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Balade randonnée en famille
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Alexandre Lamoureux

We’ve got a three-hour walk ahead of us

But mind you: take it easy! As we enter this woodland, we feel as though we’ve stepped into another world! Not a sound to be heard apart from the birdsong and the murmur of the little stream, the Kerougant, which marks the boundary between the towns of Perros-Guirec and Trégastel. To get from one bank to the other, we step over a gravestone dating from 1833. It’s quite surprising, but back then it was quite common to give them a new lease of life!

An unspoilt natural site

Our sense of smell is on high alert! The vegetation is lush and incredibly varied. Oak and chestnut trees form a canopy, blocking out the sky in places. As a keen botanist, my friend Guillaume is in^‘seventh heaven’. As we walk, we come across a fern over 300 million years old, royal osmunds, various lichens… As for me, I’m rather clueless when it comes to plant names, but I do recognise a few: heather, gorse, Venus’s navel – what a lovely name!

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Vallee Des Traouieros Studio Jezequel 1
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Studio Jezequel

A bit of history

Our guide has plenty to offer too! Eight granite pillars bear witness to the existence of a travelling crane that was used to transport blocks of granite from the quarry to the lower part of the valley on trolleys.

A place of life and passage

Here we are in front of the Leper’s Cave… which was once occupied by a hermit; you can make out his trough carved into the granite, where kind-hearted people would come to leave him food; then comes the Smugglers’ Cave, where horses were hidden during the war – and which was also a meeting place for lovers. I do wonder, though, about the authenticity of these stories! One can well imagine that this valley was quite a busy place!

As for legends

And what about the korrigans? Well, they had their own cave too! Laurent, who’d been lagging a bit behind, suddenly springs to life! Legends are his thing! But for this topic, we’ve arranged a night-time storytelling walk in this very valley. Don’t forget your torch – you never know! It wouldn’t be good to step on one of the little nocturnal inhabitants!

Three hours in the end… it goes by quickly!