People have been living in this area since the late Stone Age, around 35, 000 years ago. The region is dotted with caves where flints and tools and cave-drawings have been found which date back to this era. Cave-drawings such as those found in the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave which was discovered in 1994. These are some of the earliest cave-drawings ever found and, not only that, their artistic mastery is impressive and they reveal hunting habits and fauna which were not known about until the discovery of the cave. Rather than depicting the herbivores usually seen in cave art, the examples in Chauvet show predatory animals such as cave lions, hyenas, panthers and bears, as well as rhinoceros, which is particularly rare in this area. The cave has been shut off to the public since its discovery, although Werner Herzog gained exclusive entry to shoot his 3D documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, and so helping us understand the magnitude of this hidden treasure.
The Ardèche may be one of the country's most poor regions, with a great many more people moving out of the region than into it, but it is a region rich in mountains, rivers, gorges, perched villages, chestnuts, fruit trees, nougat, charcuterie and mushrooms.
Beautiful. You can breathe in the Ardèche.
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