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Several car parks available in Vacqueyras. For this circular route, park on Route de Montmirail at the Vacqueyras signpost.
(S/E) Cross the Pont du Rieu on the Route de Montmirail, then take the first path on the right immediately. Follow it alongside the vineyards and, after a small olive grove, turn right. Head towards the Ruisseau des Chambilles.
(1) Cross the bridge and turn right, then right again until you reach a tarmac road. Continue straight on and walk past the Mas de Pié Ripert. Follow this path lined with olive trees until you reach a vineyard.
(2) Go down the embankment on the left and take the path, skirting the vineyard, then join the Chemin des Crottes.
(3) Turn right onto the Chemin de Payard, marked in yellow. At the end of this tarmac road, turn right then immediately left and, going downhill, reach the Canal de Carpentras.
(4) Cross the bridge then turn left to follow the canal. Cross the first tarmac road and continue along the canal until you reach the main road. Turn left onto it and head towards the Notre-Dame d’Aubune Chapel.
(5) Take theGRP® des Dentelles de Montmirail, marked in yellow and red, on the left. Pass through a gate. In this area, ignore the various paths and stay exclusively on the GRP®. Pass a viewpoint and arrive at a crossroads at a gap.
(6) Do not cross it, but leave theGRP® and take the blue-marked path on the right, leading to the Saint-Hilaire Chapel.
(7) Walk past it, follow the vineyards and enjoy the view of the Dentelles. Reach the entrance to the Castellas de Durban excavation site, take the track that descends to the left to the tarmac road and the Durban signpost.
(8) Turn left onto the wide path and head down towards Notre-Dame d'Aubune. Join the GRP® again.
(9) Turn right onto it and continue downhill to reach the Ruisseau du Grand Vallat.
(10) Leave theGRP® and turn right at almost a 180°. A hundred metres further on, turn left onto a small path that crosses the Ruisseau du Lauchun. Continue along this path through the woodland, first to a ruined house and then to the banks of the Lauchun in a small gorge. Continue across a meadow, then follow a vineyard on the right until you reach a wider track.
(11) Turn left, go uphill, then turn right and then left before coming out onto a plateau.
(12) Take the DFCI track to the left, follow the buildings along the now tarmac track and reach the Route de Montmirail and the GRP®.
(13) Turn right at a 90° angle and follow theGRP® and its yellow and red markings again. Continue uphill, passing close to a mobile phone mast, until you reach the Plâtrières crossroads.
(14) Stay on theGRP® then head downhill to reach Gigondas Town Hall.
(15) Turn left onto Chemin de la Gardette and, at the last house, you’ll reach a crossroads of paths.
(16) Take this path on the left. Follow it to a vineyard and continue straight ahead on the same path, which narrows. Cross a stream and continue to a small road. Cross it and continue straight ahead towards the south on the path running alongside the vineyards. At the end of the last vineyard, climb a slope on the left.
(17) Take the Chemin de Caveau on the right for a few metres downhill to rejoin a path straight ahead. After a few dozen metres, take a steeply ascending track on the left. When it emerges at the edge of a vineyard, turn right, then fifty metres further on, take a sharp right-hand bend, still climbing. The path turns left and runs along the ridge of Caveau Hill. Follow it as it widens out to the Chemin de Caveau. Walk down this tarmac road to the Pont du Rieu, where you’ll find the Vacqueyras signpost and the car park (S/E).
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Difficult 
