Circular walk starting from Cuers

Park in the car park at Cuers cemetery, on Route du Souvenir Français, or along the road on the left-hand side.

(S/E) Follow the Route de Valcros and walk alongside the cemetery until you reach a crossroads.

(1) Carry on for forty metres and turn right onto the tarmac road to Saint-Eutrope. Follow this road, ignoring the turnings to the houses. You’ll come to a three-way junction.

(2) Leave the tarmac road and take the dirt track that climbs uphill; this is the Chemin des Régagnades. Continue along this track until you reach the junction with the track leading to Les Basses Sambalettes.

(3) Stay on the track on the right and begin a fairly steep climb to reach a multi-way junction at a hairpin bend.

(4) Take the path opposite, which is not marked on the IGN map and serves as a shortcut to the track; join the track and turn left to reach another junction.

(5) Continue straight ahead to reach the Col du Pérussier, a multi-way junction. Take the wide track running alongside a wire fence. Pass the hamlet of Les Cabrides and continue on to the water tank.

(6) Leave the track and, behind the cistern, take a path that descends to the right into the Vallon du Réal. Follow it until you reach another path junction.

(7) Turn right here. Please note that the^first section of this path is not shown on the IGN map but is marked on OSM. Follow the wire fence until you emerge onto a cleared plateau near a farm in a state of disrepair.

(8) Turn left onto a visible track and follow it, guided by a few cairns. Stay at the same level, but a GPS track is essential to find the Apies site, which lies after a very short descent behind a low wall.

(9) Return via the same route to the previous junction.

(8) Continue straight ahead downhill to reach the junction you passed earlier.

(5) Turn left and follow the path back in the opposite direction to reach the junction you also passed on the way there, at the hairpin bend.

(4) Turn right onto the path and cross the Ubac de Capus stream. At the next junction, take the path on the left. Continue downhill to reach the Valcros road.

(10) Cross the road and head uphill opposite. When you reach a gate, leave the track and take a path that rejoins it. Follow this path until you reach a crossroads with a water tank.

(11) Take the small track on the left. Stay on this track, ignoring the paths branching off to the right and left, until you reach the crossroads in the hamlet of Les Couestes.

(12) Turn left onto a stony path and, after a gentle descent, you’ll reach the Notre-Dame de Santé Chapel.

(13) Walk down the street to the first junction, turn left into Rue des Manants, then turn right and then left onto Lou Camin de Valcros; do not take Avenue Guy Teisseire. Follow the path until you return to the original junction.

(1) Turn right onto Route de Valcros to return to the cemetery car park (S/E).

(9) The ‘Apies’ consist of a row of stone hive compartments where beehives were once placed. They are very well situated, facing due south, and are in a good state of preservation. An ideal spot for a picnic: sunshine and views are guaranteed.
(10) You might want to make a short detour to the hamlet of Valcros.
(13) The Notre-Dame de la Santé chapel is not open to visitors, but the view from the forecourt is well worth a visit. There are some interesting inscriptions on the ground.