Photo : Gilles Guillamot / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Gorges St Georges et Pierre Lys
On leaving the Pyrenees, the Aude has carved a succession of gorges in the foothill limestone: the Saint-Georges defile, south of Axat, and that of Pierre-Lys, to the north. The second is a narrow canyon, about 2 km long, where water makes its way between sheer cliffs and spectacular rock formations; it is presented as the most visited natural site of the département. The watercourse is regulated upstream by dams.
The Devil's viewpoint offers a view of the Col de Pierre-Lys, whose summits are nicknamed the "walls of the devil" and overlook the Aude. A railway tunnel of 1,382 m, now closed to trains, crosses the area. The river also attracts rafting enthusiasts. The Saint-Georges defile, further south, is also a confined passage where the torrent winds between high walls.
