Remollon: a hidden gem in the Durance Valley

On arrival in Remollon, park your car in the Place de l’Hermitane.
Bus stop: “Remollon Mairie” –see Practical Information.

(S/E) To reach the Petrifying Waterfall, cross the road using the pedestrian crossing and head towards Gap until you reach the small car park on the left-hand side of the road just before you leave the village. Please take care, as you will be near a county road.

(1) Turn left onto the Chemin de la Waterfall to reach this geological curiosity.

(2) Turn back towards the waterfall car park. On the upper part of the wall on your right, near the car park, you can see a small plague cross carved into the stone – a particularly rare religious symbol in the department. See the ‘Nearby’ section below.

(1) Continue along the pavement towards the centre of Remollon, pass Place de l’Hermitane (on your left), then walk past the primary school and head for Place des Combettes.

(3) Cross at the pedestrian crossing and head up to the Parc du Bosquet. In summer, toilets and a water tap are available.
Continue towards the church, which can be seen a few metres away on the hill, and join Rue de l’Église.

(4) Built in the shape of a Latin cross, the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption – which has no bell tower – is traditionally known as Notre-Dame des Victoires. Walk up Rue de l’Église, keeping the cemetery on your left. When the road ends, go round the water tank and follow the path to the Demoiselles Coiffées.

(5) As you pass by the base of these giant rock formations – also known as ‘fairy chimneys’ – take in the spectacle and the sweeping views over the village.
Head back the way you came, keeping to the left, pass by the museum car park, then turn left onto Rue des Templiers. Walk down to the junction with the departmental road and turn left towards Espinasses. You’ll then pass the Maison des Templiers (Town Hall) and the solitary bell tower before reaching the Maison du Vigneron.

(6) If it’s open, visit the museum, then retrace your steps and walk down Rue des Taillandiers to the Maison Méyère and its tower. Walk down Rue de la Bourgade to reach the Maison Claude Giraud, then turn right onto Rue des Seigneurs and admire the Porte aux Étoiles.

(7) Walk back up Rue de Compostelle, home to the Girard house. Continue to the right along Rue Lesdiguières until you see the tower of the old hospital. Walk down Rue du Général Colomb to Remollon Castle.

(8) Take Rue de la Bourgade, pass the Mauduech house, then carry on until you see the passageway on your right that runs beneath the houses. Head down Chemin de la Fontonne towards the plain and the orchards. After the hairpin bend, take the track branching off to your left and carry on until you reach the road. At the junction with the Chemin du Milieu, turn left and head for the Dôme de Remollon, on top of which stands the Saint-Roch Chapel.

(9) From the chapel, take in the sweeping panoramic view, then head back the way you came; at the junction, turn left and make your way to the peaceful banks of the Durance.
In summer, head down to the water’s edge and enjoy the cool water. Follow the riverbank to the ford.

(10) When the water level is low enough, you can cross the river and head to the three lakes of Rochebrune for a lovely swim.
Continue along the riverbank, then turn right onto the Chemin du Milieu. Ignore the tarmac road to L’Hermitane and take the Chemin des Combettes on your right, which climbs back up towards the village through the orchards. When you reach the main road, turn left and head for the Place de l’Hermitane (S/E).

Bus: ZOU line, Sud region.

In summer, drinking water is available at Place de la Mairie and in the centre of the Parc du Bosquet.

In the village, you can quench your thirst and enjoy a bite to eat at the Trois Alpes snack bar and restaurant (Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes).

In summer, the Maison du Vigneron offers a free tour of the museum and a tasting of the excellent mountain wines, which have often won awards at the Paris General Agricultural Show.
On your left, if you’d like to enjoy your picnic or relax, you can head to the magnificent, shaded Parc du Bosquet, situated below the church.

Further information is available on the Remollon website.

(1) The plague crosses: Wikipedia, and in particular the one in Romollon.

You can cool off at the ‘petrifying’ waterfall (1) at the western entrance to the village (car park 30 metres from the waterfall). Water from a major spring cascades down the hillside through an open channel, crosses the departmental road before reaching the Moulin district, where it once powered a grain mill. It forms the waterfall where the wooden channel that carried it to the mill’s wheel has now disappeared.
After flowing beneath the mill, it ends its journey in the Durance valley, plunging from the top of a tufa cliff. The water, laden with dissolved limestone and gypsum, creates petrifying fountains, which coat leaves, twigs or any object it touches with mineral deposits.

(4) Demoiselles Coiffées: these are also known as ‘fairy chimneys’. The Montagne des Assaillous, which overlooks the village to the north, features two major clusters of Demoiselles Coiffées (the western and eastern sites), comprising several dozen of these astonishing formations. Rain erosion has carved through the thick layer of clay-limestone soil and moraine boulders deposited by the Durance glacier, which cover the mountain’s flanks. As the rock blocks protect the ground immediately below them, erosion gradually clears the surrounding terrain, forming over the centuries these tall columns topped with their own rock.

In summer, the Maison du Vigneron (6) offers a tour of the museum and a tasting of the excellent mountain wines. Wine can be purchased on site.

We also recommend a visit to the Saint-Roch Chapel (14) at the eastern entrance, below the shopping area, which is easily accessible by car.
Perched on its rocky hillock, a little upstream from the village, the Saint-Roch Chapel overlooks the vast orchards of the Durance plain.
Its official name is actually Notre-Dame de Clémence, but popular tradition has retained only the name Saint-Roch, no doubt in memory of the circumstances that led to its construction.
In 1854, a terrible cholera epidemic that originated in Marseille decimated the population of Provence before spreading upstream along the Durance. It claimed many victims in the Embrun and Gap regions, but none in the village of Remollon, despite its high risk of exposure!