Circular Palama

At the end of Chemin de Palama, after passing a quarry on a road in poor condition, you will come to a car park on the right.

(S/E) Continue along the tarmac road for about 100 metres, then, after passing a wooden barrier, take a path parallel to the track which initially goes straight up, then turns right to join it. Continue to an intersection with an orientation table from which you can see the surrounding area.

(1) Take the track on the left heading north and continue, leaving a field of fig trees on your right. You will come to a three-way junction.

(2) Take the track on the right, which descends slightly to a ford.
Along this track, you will see many arbutus trees, which were in bloom and bearing fruit when we passed by.

(3) Cross the ford and continue on the left. Further on, on the left and about a hundred metres before an intersection, you can see the Ouides spring, which was unfortunately dry when we passed by.

(4) At the junction after the spring, turn left at the hairpin bend. Continue up the track, then descend slightly until you reach an inverted Y-shaped junction at Les Barres de Niolon.

(5) Continue straight ahead, passing a first cistern, then a second (no. 400) at the start of a footpath.

(6) Stay on the track, leave the discovery trail on your left and continue straight ahead: don't forget to admire the magnificent views of Marseille, the Frioul Islands and the Étoile. Ignore the side tracks and continue to a three-way junction a few dozen metres before a large intersection of several tracks, with a high-voltage power line opposite.

(7) Turn left and go straight down towards Chemin de Palama, which is initially concrete with wooden barriers on the left, then tarmac further down. Pass a car park, then two houses on the left with the number 244, and you will reach a track junction a hundred metres further on.

(8) Take the track on the left, which is closed by a green barrier and has a red fire hydrant. The track descends slightly at first, then turns right for the final climb of your route.

(9) Once at the top, head right, following the high-voltage power line, pass under a pylon, then turn right onto the path. Descend until you find the start of a trail on the left, marked on the ground by a green mark on a rock.

(10) Turn left, pass a hunters' hut and then begin a fairly steep descent to a wide track near a water reservoir.

(11) Turn right and continue until you reach Chemin de Palama. All that remains is to take the road on the left to return to the car park less than a hundred metres away (S/E).

(1) Orientation table with beautiful view of Marseille.

Source des Ouides.

View of the Étoile, Marseille, and the Frioul Islands.

Nature with fig trees, arbutus trees, heather, etc.