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Park in the car park on the Cassis road opposite the Carpiagne military camp, about 15 kilometres from Marseille, as the Col de la Gardiole road is now closed to traffic.
(S/E) Follow the Gardiole road south for about 400 metres.
(1) At the bend, leave the road and turn left, then right onto a well-marked path that leads to a small valley after a very steep descent that requires caution and should be avoided on wet days. Follow the road to the left at the bottom of the descent to reach the start of a path marked by several crosses, which you can follow without hesitation. This is the start of the climb to the Col de la Gardiole.
(2) Turn left onto this path and continue straight ahead to the top, crossing the road twice. You will reach the pass.
(3) Take the second track on the left, which climbs slightly, and continue for about 700 m.
(4) Turn onto a well-marked path to the right of the track, go straight ahead at the junction with another path and you will come to a four-way crossroads. Here you will find the track that leads to the La Fontasse farmhouse inn.
(5) Turn right and continue almost straight ahead until you reach a large, complex crossroads.
(6) Continue straight ahead, veering right onto the path and then right again towards a steep and tricky descent, which has since been slightly improved and is marked by cairns. Proceed with caution.
(7) At the bottom, turn left and follow a small valley that leads back to the track after a large embankment. You will arrive at the Portalet junction.
(8) Go up the track on the right for about 50 metres and turn left onto a path that climbs up to the Col de l'Oule.
(9) At the end of this path, take the path marked "belvédère" (viewpoint) which leads straight to today's destination.
(10) Just before reaching the viewpoint, you can admire views of the Calanque de l'Oule on the right and the En Vau cliffs with their needle on the left. At the end, the belvedere offers a magnificent panorama of the calanque and the cliffs.
Be careful with young children as it is steep on all sides.
Take the same route back.
(9) Take the middle path between the track on the left and the arrival path on the right. Further up, ignore the path that branches off to the left and continue straight ahead until you reach a three-way junction.
(11) Take the fairly steep descent on the left, which leads to the crossroads opposite the Gardiole forest house.
(12) Turn left, then keep left at the next junction to climb back up to the Col de la Gardiole.
(3) Continue straight ahead and retrace your steps to return to the car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Very difficult 
