Les Plus Beaux Villes Continued.......

   The Jura Province has a few awards for the  Les Plus Beaux Villes en France.

 I wanted to share a couple more villages I traversed through.  In this Village, Baume Les Messieurs, there is the most beautiful waterfalls set in among this village that is in a valley surrounded by huge canyons. The French call them reculées as during the glaciers these huge rocks were left and eventually "pulled"away from each other to form the valley. You walk up these rickety wooden steps to reach the top of a small waterfall, but the scenery is incredible. It's a link to the past as nothing is disturbed. During this time of year (December), there is nothing open - and in fact there is not much in this town anyway. It boast a 12th century church where the monks still make their beer to sell at their local shop. Other than this, there is nothing else in the way of commerce. During the summer, hikes into caves, as well as climbing and camping are available.

Canyons surrounding village - these go all the way around the village

View from the top of the falls

Another village in this area to see is Pesmes. Half the fun is the drive to these villages. You set the GPS, and you have no idea what is at the end of your road, or where you will turn next. Most of the time you are driving through fields and dirt roads and windy cliffs that can not fit more than one car at a time. It was a bit harrowing to be on the outside of those windy cliff roads.

Pesmes is a village stepped back in time. Homes are built into the castle structure and sit high up overlooking the village. The view from the top is wow!! Just walking the narrow streets of this village stirs up images of what life might have been like here during the 14th Century.  Interestingly enough, this village boasts a bar, hairdresser and a small supermarket and most important... a public toilet in the supermarket!!

The bridge coming into Pesmes

View from the climb up to top of Village in Pesmes

Another view from the top