A mosaic of Provençal maquis, cork oak woodland, and temporary pools, sheltering Europe's last lowland stronghold of Hermann's tortoise.
Plaine des Maures National Nature Reserve
The Plaine des Maures National Nature Reserve is a protected natural area in the Var department of southeastern France, sitting on the northern fringe of the Massif des Maures in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Created in 2009 as the first national nature reserve of the Var, it covers roughly 5,276 hectares across the communes of La Garde-Freinet, Le Cannet-des-Maures, Le Luc-en-Provence, Les Mayons, and Vidauban, with Le Cannet-des-Maures as its nearest town.
The reserve protects an exceptional mosaic of Mediterranean habitats: low and tall maquis, cork oak woodland, stands of stone pine, sandstone slabs, grasslands, vineyards, and a dense network of temporary ponds and streamlets formed by the area's siliceous, impermeable soils. These habitats support more than 130 protected plant species and an unusually rich fauna, most notably the Hermann's tortoise, for which the Plaine des Maures is the most important surviving stronghold on the French mainland.
Nowhere else in mainland France is this combination of habitats and species found in such a compact area, giving the reserve a botanical, faunistic, and landscape value that extends well beyond regional significance. The site is also part of the European Natura 2000 network, and its recognition reflects a long effort to safeguard one of the last vestiges of lowland Mediterranean biodiversity in Provence.
