Le Coteau de la Butte

Located in countryside typical of the Pays d'Auge hills, the Coteau de la Butte at COURMENIL provides a good example of "picanes". This local term describes the steeply sloping, dry, sunny hillsides, where plants specific to limestone environments grow. After the spring flowering of the orchids, teucrium, oregano and Breckland thyme bring a whiff of the Mediterranean. On fine days, the flower-filled fields are alive with insects, including many butterflies such as the common blue.