|
Caille is a small farming village sitting at the western end of a 4-km-long prairie in an otherwise mountainous and forested region northwest of Grasse.
|
|
|
|
Nearby: |
Andon 5.5 km |
Bargème 19 km |
Carcès 16 km |
Castellane 28 km |
Escragnolles 10 km |
Gourdon 30 km |
Grasse 40 km |
Gréolières 20 km |
Mons 17 km |
La Moulière 6.5 km |
Saint Vallier-de-Thiey 27 km |
Séranon 2.5 km |
Thorenc 10 km |
Below: |
Michel Siffre's "Cave Beyond Time" |
Caillite Meteorite |
History |
Fun |
Sports |
Hiking |
Lodging Hotels |
Caille seems a fairly large little village, laid out in an inverted "T". The village includes a large number of attached houses, a couple of large farms, church and post office. Commerce is small-village: one boulangerie (bakery), one boucherie (butcher), one General Store (groceries, hardware, toys, plants, souvenirs, and Internet access) and one café-restaurant-auberge.
There's not a lot of streets to wander: a half-hour is enough to visit the village. The church, a fountain-lavoir and some ancient doorways are certainly worth a look. The views from the village are lovely, with a very long prairie stretching out between the hills to Andon in the east, and hills and cliffs towering above the other side of the village.
The main attraction of Caille is for the outdoor sports, including excellent hiking, winter cross-country skiing, and the mountain-bike, caving and adventure activities at La Moulière hamlet about 6 km southeast.
Michel Siffre's "Cave Beyond Time"
The Montagne de Audibergue, at the Parc de la Moulière by the hamlet of La Moulière 6 km southeast of Caille, is full of caves (avens). In 1962, the French speleologist Michel Siffre spent two months living in total isolation in a subterranean Aven de la Glacière (a 230-m deep cavern carved out by an underground glacier), without access to clock, calendar, or sun.
This was the first of M. Siffre's experimental studies about human's internal clock, and helped found the field of human chronobiology.
For more information, do an Internet search on ""hors du temps de Michel Siffre" (for French results) or "Michel Siffre Beyond Time".
Caillite Meteorite
In ancient times an iron meteorite landed in the nearby Audibergue mountains. The 625 kilogram meteorite was brought to the village whre it was apparently used as a bench. The Académie des Sciences de Paris learned about the "Caillite" in 1828, and it was taken to the Museum of Natural History in Paris the same year. In 2007 a mould was made of the "Caillite" and it will soon be on display in the Mairie.
History
Name
First record, 1042 Calia; 15th century Calha
There were 306 inhabitants in 1765, dropping to 176 in 1990 and now back up to 223.
Gallo-Roman:
Roman Milestones were found along the old Roman road on the plain between Caille and Andon (5 km to the east), a branch of the Voie Julienne that linked Nice with western Provence.
Medieval:
Feudal domain of the Brun de Castellane and the Théas.
Fun - Amusement - Kids
Adventure
Arbre & Aventure
Tree Adventures - Cables, walkways and nets strung between trees in the forested hills of the Montagne de Audibergue. Seven different routes, for all ages: 5 years and up, 8 years and up, on up to the adults' Super Tyro.
Location:
Parc de la Moulière, outdoor sports area by the hamlet of La Moulière, 6 km southeast of Caille village.
Open: May, June, Sept: weekends and holidays. July-August: daily
Tel: 0493 366 057, or 0660 605 625
Email: cailleacrobranche@yahoo.fr
Web: www.geocities.com/cailleacrobranche
Sports
Many grottos and potholes at nearby La Moulière, including the Aven de la Glacière (where Michel Siffre studied chronobiology) and the Via Souterrata.
Via Souterrata
Underground cavern with fixed cables and aids in the style of Via Ferrata rock climbing.
Location:
Parc de la Moulière, outdoor sports area by the hamlet of La Moulière, 6 km southeast of Caille village.
Open: All year.
Tel: 0493 603 451; Fax: 0493 603 451
Email: loupais.caille@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.lou-pais.com
Cycling
La Moulière Park - Parc de La Moulière
The Télésiege de La Moulière (chair lift) at this winter-time ski station is used all summer to ferry mountain bikes (vélos VTT) to the top (1602 m) of the Audibergue mountain, where several different down-hill biking trails are availble.
You can also ride 1 km across the ridge to the top of the Audibergue chairlift for even more down-hill bike trails.
Location:
Parc de la Moulière, outdoor sports area by the hamlet of La Moulière, 6 km southeast of Caille village.
Open: May, June, Sept: weekends and holidays. July-Aug: daily. Hours: 10h-18h
Hiking
- Maps:
- IGN (1/25,000) #3542 ET "Haut Estéron"
- IGN (1/25,000) #3542 OT "Castellane, Lac de Castillon"
Excellent hiking in this area. Hiking trails along the valley, east to Andon or west to Séranon, with loop returns via the hills along the north or south sides of the vally.
Good trails, with different loops, in the mountains to the south (the Montagne de Lachens or the Montagne de L'Audibergue) and other good loop trails in the forested mountains to the north.
Lodging - Hotels
Hotels in Towns Nearby to Caille
• 27 km — Saint Vallier-de-Thiey hotels
• 28 km — Castellane hotels
• 30 km — Gourdon hotels
• 40 km — Grasse hotels
|
Photo gallery of 10 photos for Caille
