Carcés and Caramy Falls

This hike will visit the village of Carcés, Carcés Lake and the splendid Caramy Falls. Best in the spring when the water flow is stronger.
You also will take a part of the path of Saint Jacques de Compostela.

Details

57480
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.65 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 198 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 199 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 309 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 131 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Carcès (83570)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.479055° / E 6.18343°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3443OT, 3444OT
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

(S) Park your vehicle in the the car park in the centre of Carcés, on Rue Giraud Florentin on the D13, in front of the "Louis Pasteur” retirement home.

The start of the hike is between two houses, a small very narrow passage located above the retirement home, to the left heading uphill. A small wash-basin marks the starting point.
Continue 20 m in this passage and turn left.
Head through the basement level of the retirement home following the canal.
Continue onwards following the canal. Great views over the rooftops of Carcés.
Pass both trails on the left and reach the "Chemin de St. Jaume" (1).
Turn left on this road, pass the trail to the right then one to the left and reach an intersection (2).
Fork left. There is a chapel on your left-hand side. Follow this road to get to the Notre Dame chapel (3).
Turn right on the road down, an apiary (built into the wall) is on your right in the undergrowth.
Turn right again and walk this road with Caramy below on the left. Go straight, passing the trail to the right to reach a house on your left (4).
Take an immediate right, the trail that rises and sinks into the forest, ignore the path on the left (14: continuing straight along the canal for 20 m and cross the canal)5(. Take the trail that goes left towards)6::. Continue straight ahead.
To the junction with a track (7), turn left then 20 m further on turn right on the path that climbs up. At the next junction, turn right. Arrive at a big track, 30 m further on at point (8) turn right.
Journeying on this track for 400 m to the intersection with a paved road, the "Route du Lac." Turn right on this road with views of the lake. Continue on this road, pass by the first path on the right and 10 m further up pass the path to the right which does not appear on the IGN map, to go to the magnificent view of the Brauch rock, 50 m above. ::9
Retrace your steps back to the road to the right.
Down this road and turn left on Chemin du Lac (10). At the next crossing turn right and then left to get to the car park.
Picnic area on the banks of the lake.
Follow the path to the lake that runs along the banks and pass by all roads to the left to reach the dam.
After the dam, continue on this road and take the first path (11) heading to Caramy on the the right hand side.
Crossing the beginning of the small irrigation canal, turn right on a small path to approach the beautiful waterfalls (12).
Take the path that runs along the small canal that runs through the meadows.
Meet the paved road (13), continue straight ahead always following the canal.
Arriving at the intersection, at point (14), turn right and take the route in reverse to reach Carcés.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 132 m - Car park in Carcès town centre
  2. 1 : km 1.59 - alt. 150 m - Intersection with Chemin Notre-Dame
  3. 2 : km 1.86 - alt. 154 m - Carrefour de la boucle
  4. 3 : km 2.19 - alt. 150 m - Chapelle Notre-Dame de Carami (Carcès)
  5. 4 : km 2.77 - alt. 142 m - Building, right-angle bend, right.
  6. 5 : km 2.97 - alt. 158 m - Carrefour de la boucle
  7. 6 : km 3.09 - alt. 165 m - Intersection, left
  8. 7 : km 3.44 - alt. 189 m - Intersection with a runway, left then right
  9. 8 : km 4.32 - alt. 282 m - Runway junction, right
  10. 9 : km 4.9 - alt. 309 m - Rocher du Brauch
  11. 10 : km 5.71 - alt. 244 m - Intersection with chemin du lac
  12. 11 : km 6.58 - alt. 174 m - Car park - Lac de Carcès
  13. 12 : km 9.7 - alt. 167 m - Path on the right
  14. 13 : km 9.87 - alt. 156 m - Path along the canal - Caramy (rivière)
  15. 14 : km 11.04 - alt. 151 m - Tarmac road
  16. S/E : km 14.65 - alt. 132 m - Car park in Carcès town centre

Worth a visit

Visit Carces

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 218 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
User 577889

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Walk on 27 April. A lovely time of year with hardly any other walkers about
A lovely walk under a sunny blue sky.
17 km through this magnificent landscape;
we deliberately changed our route on the way there and back.
Don’t forget to use the ‘few steps’ (around 120) to reach the Brauch site, a climbing rock.

The Espigoule Walkers

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User 28920767

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

In point 4 of the description, the route details were not specific enough.

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Mercou
Mercou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route that starts in and above the village of Carcès, following an irrigation canal, and continues through woodland. The route description is reliable. The climb (Point 9) to the viewpoint is well worth the effort; it offers a splendid view of the Massif des Maures with the lake in the foreground. The Caramy Falls are full of water at this time of year and are quite spectacular. You can admire them by taking a small, well-marked path just after the dam (between points 11 and 12, taking care) and continue along the canal to complete the circular route.

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Îledespins
Îledespins

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk at this time of year as there was plenty of water in the rivers.

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loronavil
loronavil

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 26, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike without any major difficulties.
At this time of year, the tranquillity and liveliness of the falls are very enjoyable.

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User 27628878

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful, fairly flat route, lots of walkers with dogs
worth doing once... as a Plan B

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nathy1
nathy1

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely, pleasant walk with no difficulty.

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PatrickMichele
PatrickMichele

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk along Lake Sainte Suzanne with beautiful views.

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Denis8361@
Denis8361@
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Even in autumn, waterfalls are worth seeing

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ChTitom
ChTitom

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, enjoyable hike with beautiful views all along the way (Brauch rock, point 9!!) and the coolness of the canals.

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User 2441065

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello

In terms of colours, it was difficult to know which ones to follow: yellow, blue, green or red

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User 26802473

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike in close contact with nature.
The walk is mostly shaded, which is very nice
Very beautiful viewpoint worth seeing
The waterfalls are magnificent and perfect for cooling off!

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User 16737146

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Perfect. I've done over 450 hikes in 15 years and Visorando is very useful for creating my route, even if I don't follow the suggested routes exactly. I allow myself a few variations. I also use Iphigénie just to check my position. The route is accessible to everyone, but you need to be used to distances of around 15 km. Thank you.
Mr Larosa.

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stephetsandra
stephetsandra

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A long but beautiful hike with varied landscapes throughout.
Don't forget to take a slight detour to the viewpoint, as it's really worth it.
Along the river, several small passages offer quiet spots and superb views.

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bea50
bea50

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route crosses free-ride cycle tracks. Walkers are not really welcome. We did the route during the week and there were no cyclists, which was just as well.

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