La Vallée de la misère

The Misère valley is at Saint-Léonard-des-Bois, in the Alpes Mancelles, in the heart of the Sarthe. Deeply steep-sided, it is overlooked on each side by sandstone bars, at the foot of which stretch scree slopes inherited from the cold periods of the Quaternary. These heaps of Armorican sandstone blocks form a rare site in the Pays de la Loire.

The scree shelters pioneer vegetation of mosses and lichens, as well as reptiles and insects, including a spider rare in the region. Very fragile, it is not open to visits: a viewpoint lets you observe it without damaging it. The place has been listed as a Sensitive Natural Area since 2017. The name is said to come from the poverty of the vegetation in the past. A marked loop of about 6 km leaves the village, on sometimes steep paths, with a little stream at the bottom of the valley and panoramas from the heights.

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