Visit the church of Notre Dame de Cros, 12th century, built close by a so called 'miraculous' spring at the south end of the gorges of the valley of the river Cros. Originally of romanesque style, the church has been restored several times : the ogival period, 17th century, 19th century. Look for the 14th century keystone in the form of an effigy of the virgin and child between two angels. Also : decoration of the choir and its altars in the pink marble (17 - 18th centuries) from the Caunes quarries, pictures repesenting the marriage of the virgin and the Assumption, six monumental statues.

When christianity installed itself in this area, it seems that the cult of N-D du Cros took the place of the pagan deity, Cybèle.

To the east of the church, above the spring, in the rock face were carved, three arches, known as 'Las Capeletos'. They sheltered statues of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and St John. Only one arch now remains intact with the part of a second one being visible. Tradition has it that these arches were at the origin of the devotion to ND du Cros. Beneath these little chapels there is a tiny cave with a stone table variously said to be a druid dolmen or an altar where sacrifices were placed for the three statues. Later, as the devotion to N-D du Cros became more popular, the present church was constructed with a hermitage. on the other side of the stream.

The story is told that a statue of the Virgin was found in a rock and transported to Caunes where it was housed in a temporay chapel. But at nights, the statue disappeared, to be found later out in the countryside and the chapel where it had been housed was found in disarray. Someone had the idea to throw a marble worker's hammer up in the air and where it landed, the hermitage and church were constructed. A pious lady, some say a shepherdess, suffering from fever and thirst, dared not pluge her hands into the waters of the spring beneath the arches and their statues in order to quench her thirst. Instead she implored the help of the Virgin. Suddenly she spied a cup at the foot of the rock and from this she drank and was cured. The cup is said to be of an unknown material and to carry characters of an unknown alphabet.

Here was the site of many religious processions including 29 by the 'Penitents Bleus' et al from neighbouring villages on Sunday 27th May 1612 to implore God to send rain because the droughts were threatening all the crops from Carcassonne to Beziers. About 10,000 to 12,000 people attended. The following day, 28th May, the rains came as the result of this procession and lasted for about 5 days. The crops were saved.
Throughout the next 2 centuries, numerous processions are recorded beseeching God to send rain to save crops.

On the other side of the carpark from the church is a pathway on the hillside leading past the stations of the cross.

A habitation dating from the period of transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age (about 700 BC) has been identified. It was protected by a stone surrounding wall backing on to the cliffs in the gorge. This wall is around 470 metres long with a thickness of some 2 - 3 metres. This is one of the largest fortified defensive sites known in the south of France.