Situated where the Gellone river's narrow valley meets the steep-sided gorge of the river Hérault, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is essentially a medieval village located on the Chemin de Saint-Jacques (Way of St James) pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella.

It is located on the borders of the Massif Central, in the middle valley of the Hérault, north of the department of the same name.

The commune of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is drained by the river Hérault and its tributaries Verdus and Ruisseau de la Combe du Bouys.

In 804, saint Guillaume ('saint Guilhèm' in langue d'oc), the count of Toulouse and Duke of Aquitaine, founded an abbey here at a time when the valley was virtually uninhabited, hence its appellation "desert".

The abbey became a very important centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages due to a claim that a relic of a piece of the true cross was housed here.