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On the D32, in the Narbonne to Gruissan direction, about 3.5km after the Château-Abbaye des Monges sign, turn left onto the small road to Les Inférêts (be careful here, as this is a very busy road and it is dangerous to swerve off it). The entrance to this road is marked by a "Route Verte" sign and another "Massif de la Clape" sign. Go past the Inférêts building and continue to a small parking area under the pines that can accommodate four or five vehicles.
No signposting
(S/E) Head for the start of the path some twenty metres ahead, marked by a simple wooden post with no indication of direction. Take the path between the vines towards the cliffs and quickly enter a pine forest. At the next fork in the path, follow the right-hand branch and walk along the cliffs, ignoring several routes to the left leading to climbing routes.
At a scree slope, the slope rises steeply and the path heads towards an indentation in the cliff, which you have to cross on smooth slabs secured by a handrail.
(1) Let a path go off to the right and, at the fork a few metres further on, turn left. Continue through pretty pine undergrowth to a junction marked by a large pile of stones.
Yellow markings
(2) Turn left. The path emerges from the undergrowth into a heath landscape with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean on the right. Ignore a start on the left and continue almost flat until you reach a new junction (wooden post set in a concrete block, with no signposting).
No signposting
(3) Turn left down a small ravine. Once on the flat, at the level of an isolated Austrian black pine, well hidden under a fig tree, is the Saint-Louis spring. It is impossible to draw water from this spring, but it does provide a shady spot where you can stop for a rest. Continue along the path, which widens as you reach a tarmac gap marking the end of the road leading to the Bergerie de Figuières.
Go past the rubbish bin and immediately turn right, at the foot of a pine tree, onto a grassy path that runs alongside a vineyard. Continue until you reach the tarmac road known as Chemin de la Couleuvre.
(4) Follow this road to the right for around 600m.
(5) At the start of a slight bend to the left and about thirty metres from what is marked on the IGN map as a small pond (a basin that has long since dried up), leave the road to take a wide path to the right. Turn left at the fork in the road a few metres further on and follow this path to the Vigne Longue junction.
(6) Turn left. Opposite, the Coffre de Pech Redon on the left and the small summit of Gueites on the right serve as landmarks. Cross a wide track and continue straight ahead on a narrower path with gullies for the first few metres. Once you are within sight of the radar installations on your left, follow a meadow and then a more or less abandoned vineyard, both on your left, and come to a large crossroads with two metal poles.
(7) Take the wide, stony path on the right, which climbs gently and leads to the Vente-Farine ridge. Once on the flat, keep your eyes peeled for the start of a much narrower path on the left. You need to be particularly vigilant at this point as there are no really visible landmarks other than a mountain bike marker on a tree just beyond, but in the opposite direction.
(8) Leave the wide track and follow this path along an escarpment to a junction where you need to turn left to reach the Vigie, a small watchtower located at the tip of a very steep rocky headland (risk of falling).
(9) Enjoy the sumptuous 180° view. To the west, Narbonne Plage, Cap d'Agde, Sète and Mont Saint-Clair. To the east, the old village of Gruissan dominated by the Tour Barberousse, part of its lake and, in the distance, the Canigou and the Albères.
Return to the previous junction, then fork left onto a wide, stony track and follow it straight ahead, ignoring several switchbacks on the right. You will come to a large open space that marks the entrance to the protected site of Les Auzils (road sign prohibiting motor vehicles, and even horses!).
Continue straight ahead to enter the site, then descend a few metres to the left to reach the small terrace of the Chapelle des Auzils, famous for its ex-votos and a popular place of pilgrimage for the people of Gruissan (unfortunately closed when I visited).
(10) Enjoy the view of the Mediterranean (educational panel on the Gruissan coastline). Walk past the chapel and, at the end of the terrace, descend a few steps to reach the Grotte Saint-Salvaire, a protected site that is off-limits to visitors as it is a transit area for several species of bat. Continue downhill until you reach the path of the cross, then turn right uphill and join the track. Follow the track to the left for around 200m.
(11) Twenty metres or so before a huge cairn with a fine view of the Pyrenees, look out for a path on the right that is not very visible at first. Be particularly vigilant at this junction, which is only indicated by a tiny light blue mark on a pebble on the ground.
Follow this path, which becomes more marked a few dozen metres further on and descends a few small scree slopes before coming to an intersection that marks the entrance to a narrow canyon. Turn left into the canyon, walk alongside a water reservoir and continue flat through a pine grove. The path becomes a wide level track and runs alongside a fence on the left before coming out onto a small tarmac road. Turn left, pass the first houses and, as the road bends, turn right onto a wide track.
(12) At a yellow signpost (La Clape - Les Auzils sector), turn right into a canyon that is even narrower than the previous one. For the first hundred metres or so, the path is paved with concrete and a chain is used as a handrail, as the dry stream bed is very deep and potentially dangerous. Continue straight ahead on the main path until you reach a crossroads at the corner of a vineyard.
(13) Turn right onto a small tarmac road that becomes a wide gravel track at a three-way junction, where there are three paths (not two as shown on the map). Follow the middle path slightly uphill, skirting a vineyard and entering a magnificent pine forest with picnic areas. Go straight on through this area and continue until you come to a crossroads with a large information board about the Auzils site on your left.
(14) Turn right, go around a vineyard and come to a fork in the road (ruins).
(15) Let the path go to the left and continue straight on until you come to a crossroads where there is a sign for "la Clape - la Goutine".
(16) Turn right and go straight ahead (north) towards a rocky barrier, a former quarry. After the quarry, follow the path up to the right to quickly join the route des Inférêts. Turn left to return to the starting point (S/E).
Walker
