2 abandoned villages, a dam in the middle of nowhere and the most amazing rock formations made us drive on gravel roads through a nice landscape to get to all this places.
We were surprised to see how low the water level in this dam was, for sure 20 metres lower than it could be. As there are already little trees growing near the water line, it wasn’t higher for a long time. We didn’t find out the reason for that, as all the other dams we saw, were filled to the brim.
Above the dam lie the ruins of the village of Finestres, which was abandoned, when their fertile fields in the valley were flooded after the construction of the dam.
The “Teeth of Finestres” are an incredibly fascinating rock formation next to the village, which we wanted to visit already for a long time. Like the Chinese Wall, the rocks snake up and down the mountains in a straight line, forming a double barrier for the river.
The sun was already low, therefore we spent the night at Finestres, before we continued the next day to visit Fet, another abandoned village.
When we left Finestres the next morning, we were surrounded by fog, only when we came higher, the sun was shining and the clouds were below us.
Fet was first mentioned in 1046, and was one of the most important villages in this area. In the 19th century, 200 people lived here. The large church from the 12th century had 4 bells and 4 altars. Fet had the same fate as Finestres: the fertile fields were flooded by the dam and thereby their livelihood destroyed.
While exploring the overgrown ruins, we came past this house, where the wall must have collapsed just recently. That made us a little bit more careful wondering around.
We are heading now to the start of an incredible hike just around the corner, where a path was carved into the rock cliffs, high above the river – more next!