Bugarach – Surviving the ‘end of the world’ on upside-down mountain

Bugarach is a small village which lies at the foot of the ‘Pic de Bugarach’, the highest peak in the Corbieres Mountains, in south-west France, though the ‘pic de Bugarach’ is set apart from the other mountains as a whole and stands alone. It is also know as the ‘upside down mountain’ because the layers at the top of the mountain are older than the layers at the bottom.

It has become a world focal point for the 20 December 2012 ‘end of the world’ occultists who believe the Pic de Bugarach is the only place that will survive on earth, and is attracting many occult groups from around the world.

In the 1960’s ad 70’s the area was a favorite place of the Hippies, towards the end of the 20^th century it became associated with the ‘New Age’ movement, as the mountain was believed to hold mystical powers, and rumors began to spread that Bugarach would be the only place to survive the apocalypse of 2012. 

According to cult followers, the mountain houses extra-terrestrials who are willing to save any humans who want to leave planet earth with them.

In 2011, the french “Interministerial Mission for monitoring and combatting cultic deviances” (MIVLUDES), paid extra attention to the area over concerns about mass suicides.  MIVLUDES aim is to prevent ritualized deaths by doomsday cults such as the ‘Order of the Solar temple’ which lost members to ritualized killings in the Alps in 1995.

Preparations, which began in 2010, to cope with the mass influx of people to this small village with a population of less then 200, are still in progress, the towns Mayor Jean-Pierre Delord, when interviewed in 2010 said

 

“This is no laughing matter, if tomorrow 10,000 people turn up, as a village of 200 people, we will not be able to cope. I have informed the regional authorities, and want the army to be on hand if necessary come December 2012”

 

In response to the Masses of visitors to the area, the authorities recently decided to limit access to the peak from 19 December 2012 to 23 December 2012. In addition, there will be 100 policemen and firemen who will control access to the village.

 

The Internet has become awash with items from the village, including pebbles from the mountain sold as talismans, and online prayers for sale. The Mayor told the guardian in an interview in November 2012

 

“the Bugarach sign at the entrance to the village has been stolen for the third time…”

This Southern corner of France has seen a ‘cauldron of mystic fables and occult conspiracy theories’. The nearby village of Rennes-de-Chateau was described in the Cadogan guide as ‘the vortex of Da Vinci code madness’….. the village which is just a short distance away from Bugarach received over 100,000 visitors when Dan Brown’s the “Da Vinci Code” was at the height of it’s popularity.

Watch this space through December for updates and more information, as this story unfolds.