Roc d'Orque Circular Route

From Béziers, head towards Bédarieux (D909) then take the D909A to Hérépian. Continue on the D13 to reach Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare. Enter the village and take the street on the left, then follow the one-way street on the right towards Saint-Geniès-de-Varensal. On leaving the village, continue on the D922, reach Andabre and continue on the Route de Lacaune, passing the hamlets of Le Péras and La Croix de Mounis. Shortly afterwards, turn right onto the D53. After Le Basset, turn right onto the small road towards Le Fau and Albès. Enter the hamlet of Le Fau and park on a grassy area at the end of the path where the walk finishes.

No signposting

(S/E) Leave the hamlet (heading north) onto the quiet tarmac road and follow it for 3 km towards the hamlet of Albès. Walk through the hamlet.

(1) At the bend in the road to the right by the small bridge, take a path that follows the left bank of a small stream, ignoring the track leading to a house. Pass between the stream and a building to reach two gates in the fence, through which the owners allow passage: remember to close them properly behind you. Continue along the path, which keeps climbing as it follows the stream before fading slightly as it moves away from it.

(2) Leave the bottom of the valley and climb the switchbacks to the right (cairn) along a faint path through the broom, which leads to a grassy track. Turn left and follow this track, which crosses meadows overgrown with broom, to the edge of a beech wood.

(3) Enter the woodland and head right to reach the Col de la Michette (987m). Continue south-southeast along the ridge to reach the woodland, pass two fences and continue climbing towards the electricity pylons. On leaving the woodland, you can see the Croix de Marcou, which has recently been guyed. Continue climbing towards the Col de la Bacoune (elevation 1041m) to reach the track leading to the Croix de Marcou.

GRP® Yellow-Red and Yellow markings

(4) Turn right, pass a fence and continue climbing towards the cross, where the panorama is exceptional with a 360° view. Head towards a bench and turn left before reaching it (post with markings).

(5) Head left towards the south-southeast to begin the descent towards Saint-Geniès-de-Varensal via the GRP® Haut Languedoc et Vignobles. The path descends quite steeply through the rocks of La Bouriotte, alongside a fence that could serve as a handrail were it not for the barbed wire! The descent continues, becoming slightly less steep, still following the yellow and red markings. When you reach a small ruined house (elevation 661), continue down for about thirty metres to a flat area on the right marked by a large cairn.

No markings

(6) Take this path on the right, which we have reopened after a session of searching, pruning and marking. We have marked it with yellow paint circles on the trees (at eye level) and a few cairns. This reopening of the path allows you to reach a grassy track so you can join the rest of the circular route without descending back to the village, thus avoiding a climb of over 200 m. The route continues to the right along a stony track until a hairpin bend to the left.

(7) Leave the track and take a path on the right which climbs slightly before descending gently to cross a small stream via a footbridge. This well-marked path then climbs again to reach the small ruined hamlet of Orquette. A huge cement mixer stands at the entrance to the hamlet: how did it get there?

(8) The path continues to the right (cairn) and runs beneath imposing cliffs to reach a beautiful waterfall, whose waters emerge at the foot of the cliff. Cross the stream and continue along the path through a pine forest with a floor carpeted in creeping ivy: a very beautiful spot. Another smaller stream follows and the path leads to a ruined house. It continues along the hillside towards the west, passes beneath the Roc d’Orque to reach some houses, in good condition this time, then above the Moulin d’Orque.

(9) The climb up to Le Fau starts off steeply from this point along a less well-marked path, though cairns have been placed at tricky spots. Please note: follow the Visorando GPX track closely, as the route does not strictly follow the path marked on the map. Once you reach a plateau, walk alongside a fence and continue along the path which leads to a grassy track opening onto a tarmac road where you will find the car park (S/E).

We spent several weeks researching this circular route in a mountain range with no published hiking guides (apart from the GRP® Haut Languedoc et Vignobles). At the point (6), you need to proceed by carefully following the Yellow Circles on the trees so as not to get lost in the woods and to find the track that completes the circular route.

From the point (9), the path is sometimes poorly marked, but the GPX track from Visorando allows you to follow it. We chose to start the circular walk from Le Fau, taking the tarmac road at the start of the walk; that way, you don’t have to think about it. There’s no way to link the two hamlets (a shame); a path would have been welcome as we don’t like walking on tarmac.