Around Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

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The Infernet cirque in all its splendour, with many viewpoints and many climbs too.
Following a fire on 5 April 2023 on the heights of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert and Saint-Jean-de-Fos, the route remains passable but the Fenestrettes PR® is affected, as is the Arles route (GR®653). Please check with the Saint-Guilhem – Vallée de l'Hérault Tourist Office for information on the passability of the route.

Details

n°48157
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 30.04 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 11h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,105 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,110 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 596 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 59 m
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Photos

View of Pic St Loup and Rocher de l'Hortus from Roc de la Jarre
Saint Guilhem le Désert
Max Negre viewpoint
Descent to St-Guilhem

Description of the walk

Departure from the Clamousse caves car park (free parking).

(S/E) Head towards the village (1.5 km).

(1) At the entrance to the village, turn left. At the end of the village, follow the small stream until you reach a barrier and a marked trail (yellowPR®), which climbs steeply to the left.

(2) At the first crossroads, take the path on the left that climbs uphill. At the next crossroads, take the path on the right.

(3) See the Belvédère du Mas Nègre, with a magnificent view of the Cirque de l'Infernet.
Continue along the trail to the summit. At the fork in the tracks, turn right and descend for a few kilometres.

(4) Then take the track that branches off to the right, which descends a little and then climbs again, through very good forest terrain.
Keep an eye on the right because at the top you will find another barrier with aPR® sign. Go through the barrier and descend to the right along the fairly difficult path, which is full of stones.
Descend for about one kilometre.

(5) At the three-way junction, turn left and climb again for 3 kilometres until you arrive at the Hermitage of Notre-Dame de Belle Grâce.

(6) Continue climbing. At the top, there is a short descent, which leads to a forest track.

(7) Turn right, and 100 metres further on, take a small path on the right that leads into the scrubland for three kilometres.

(8) You will arrive at a three-way junction. Turn right and be careful as the descent begins until you reach a very large cairn (elevation 328).

(9) Turn right onto a small path that goes up, down, up again, etc. (passing close to cliffs). Continue along this path until you reach a trail (PR®).

(10) Turn left and descend the last slope to Saint Guilhem, then leave the village.

(1) Turn right and follow the main road to the cave car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 67 m - Clamousse caves car park
  2. 1 : km 2.68 - alt. 80 m - Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
  3. 2 : km 4.53 - alt. 231 m - On the left
  4. 3 : km 6.97 - alt. 532 m - Mas Nègre viewpoint
  5. 4 : km 9.45 - alt. 429 m - Turn right onto the track
  6. 5 : km 10.88 - alt. 332 m - On the left
  7. 6 : km 16.35 - alt. 382 m - Notre-Dame de Belle Grâce Hermitage
  8. 7 : km 17.63 - alt. 500 m - Turn right onto the track
  9. 8 : km 20.57 - alt. 585 m - Turn right downhill
  10. 9 : km 22.28 - alt. 330 m - Large cairn
  11. 10 : km 25.35 - alt. 268 m - Turn left onto the PR
  12. S/E : km 30.04 - alt. 67 m - Clamousse caves car park

Notes

Good hiking boots are necessary, as well as water, as the climate is very dry in summer.

Worth a visit

The picturesque village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.
The panorama from Mas Nègre.
Mont Baudille on the left.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 16 reviews
Reliability of the description
3.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
carolinne
carolinne

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike done with a friend in Bivouac. Superb hike with beautiful scenery. I recommend it. A big climb at the beginning but overall it is accessible.
Weight of rucksacks: 14kg and 12kg.
3.75 litres of water per person (5 bottles for 2). --> We had just enough, but perhaps 1 litre more per person would be better
We slept in the grounds of the Hermite residence (without knowing if we were allowed to). Otherwise, it's not possible to pitch your tent anywhere else.
It's a shame that the spring is dry!

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Boris Dee
Boris Dee
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I completed this hike in 6 hours, starting from the car park at the entrance to St Guilhem (27 km, 1,100 m elevation gain). I strongly recommend doing the first few stages by car and parking at the car park north of the village, as the road you take is not very interesting. Above all, do not park at the caves, as you will then have to walk along the road (no pavement) for more than 1 km, which is frankly dangerous.

The GPS track is very approximate, mostly running alongside the trail, but it is sufficient to give the general direction to follow. There are no particular difficulties except perhaps at the end, where you are on the side of a cliff on a rather narrow path, which can be dizzying.

A very pleasant hike with beautiful things to see and few people. I recommend it.

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Trekkeur du 34
Trekkeur du 34

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello everyone,
2-day trek with a starting weight of 16.5 kg and 11.5 kg (finishing at 10.5 kg and 7 kg).
After St G le D, there's a 45-minute climb (the hardest of the entire route).
8 litres of water over 2 days for 2 people.
Bivouac at L'Ermitage, at around the 16th kilometre, a very good spot. There is a spring there (1 litre in 5 minutes today), but it is not indicated whether the water is drinkable.
Varied landscapes, varied vegetation, trails/paths, rocks, sand, small pebbles. The further you get from St G le D, the fewer people there are, or even no one at all ;-)
In short, a fantastic 2-day trip!
The difficulty level is justified. I'd say it's the equivalent of at least three times the round trip to Pic St Loup ;-)
It's much easier with a geo app!
See you soon, walkers!

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viva2
viva2
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 29, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

i was thinking of going on this hike
I read that there is a spring at the hermitage. Is the water drinkable?
Do you have any recent information on this?
thank you

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Steve.L
Steve.L

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,

First of all, I found the route and directions very precise. If you follow the IGN map, you can't go wrong.

The hike is not particularly difficult, the slopes are fairly gentle and not very technical, except perhaps between points 9 and 10, where the path is a little overgrown.

At the end of the first day, we started looking for a place to camp, a little worried because no spot seemed suitable and we were a little low on water (no springs since St Guilhem), but luckily we came across the Ermitage Notre-Dame de Belle Grâce. This place is superb and, what's more, ideal for pitching a tent (spring, fire pit, flat ground, etc.). In short, it's the perfect spot.

The views are magnificent and the environment is quite varied.
In any case, thank you for this route, we had a great time!

See you soon
Steve

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antonio de abreu
antonio de abreu

Hello,

it's true that it's not easy to find all the paths on this route. I know it by heart and the route was mapped out using GPS, which is very important on a route in an area where there are a large number of variations.

Sorry for the description

Anto

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Rémi Kahane
Rémi Kahane

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful route with lovely passages under pine trees, beautiful forests and surprising green valleys, even though there isn't a drop of water to be seen on the surface. Very good signposting at the start and then... nothing! It wasn't easy to find the trailheads, so we had to go back down to St Guilhem to climb back up to ND de la Grâce, without finding the trail at Cap de la Pousterle (no signs at this strategic crossroads). The same was true for the return trip via Puech Bouissou (a superb balcony trail with views of Les Piochs and then Roc de la Vigne). But on the descent, we missed the turn-off for Baume de l'Olivier and went down Combe Malafosse to the Hérault. Not a big deal since we wanted to do some elevation gain, but the area could use more signage.

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to give your opinion.

By "route on map", we mean assessing the accuracy of the route as it appears on the map in relation to the actual terrain.
Did the route cause any problems?
Did you follow the route with a GPS or a GPS application?
Did you deviate from the route of the hike?

See you soon!

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thierrymalaval
thierrymalaval

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We did this hike starting from St Guilhem (lower car park in the village), with beautiful weather and a beautiful route.
Please note: despite Visorando's directions, you will need an IGN map (many paths are not marked)
It took us 7 hours, including breaks (with stops to take lots of photos, refuel and read and understand the Visorando information)
27 km, 1,174 metres of elevation gain and 1,074 metres of elevation loss.
No major "technical" difficulties, except for a very "rocky" route.

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viso11258
viso11258
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb hike, with no major difficulties apart from the distance, offering a variety of landscapes, each one more beautiful than the last.
A treat for the eyes and the body.
I'm ready to do it again, I loved it, not to mention the village of St Guilhem, which is a must-see.

A lover of mountains and nature.

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gazok54
gazok54 ★
• Edited:

Thank you, Paul DC
The trail may not be marked, but the description and map provided by Visorando are there to help you find your way.
As for the telephone network issue, I recommend caching the route before you set off and putting your smartphone in aeroplane mode when you're out and about.

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Paul DC
Paul DC

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 07, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb route, but GPS recommended as there are few or no signposts and many paths. Many hollows with no mobile signal.

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alain7866
alain7866

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Several variants

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Xavguaq
Xavguaq

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2017
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did a magnificent two-day circular, with the GR74 allowing us to easily split it in half. We first did the section around the Cirque de l'Infernet (allow about five hours, excluding breaks) and the second section the next day (also five hours), starting from the car park each time.
However, the Clamousse Caves car park is about 3 km from the village, including 1.5 km along the road... It is better to park 1.5 km further on in a small free car park on the left-hand side of the road as you head towards the village (at marker D on the trail): you can take the GR74, which passes 50 m further on below the road.

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tonychlt
tonychlt

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very good hike completed in 5½ hours (6 hours 10 minutes including lunch break and photos)
We set off directly from the St Guilhem car park to avoid walking along the road (which is a bit dangerous).
Total: 26.24 km and 1,441 m of elevation gain (we took a detour in St Guilhem and got lost between km 20 and 21 when we should have turned left at the cairn...).
Accessible hike with only one difficulty at the beginning. After that, the path is fairly easy going and pleasant.

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.