Saint-Barthélemy Chapel, discovery trail of ancient remains

This loop allows you to discover ancient dwellings on the plateau and a megalithic tomb.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.04 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 108 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 110 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 434 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 343 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the end of the Vallon de la Brague.

(S/E) Cross the river on the footbridge and follow it upstream to cross it again on another footbridge on the left. Look up and you will see the chapel opposite.

(1) Climb the steps and take the path marked with a yellow line and a blue circle that descends into the valley. Follow it up through the undergrowth and note the remains of drystone shelters, drystone walls and the oddities of nature on the rocks.

(2) When you reach a fork (with no signposts!), turn left and continue uphill (follow the markings).
You will then notice the remains of dry stone shelters on the plateau, which you will come across several times as the path passes nearby.

(3) When you reach a track, turn left for a few metres, then follow the path to the right, which continues through the undergrowth and then changes direction to join a beautiful track below.

(4) Continue straight ahead and follow the path easily. Pass to the right of a ruin and join a beautiful track.
Turn left then make a round trip to the Lauve Megalithic Tomb. Return to the track that descends to the right, leave it further down and take the path on the left (north-east).

(5) Continue downhill to the cave dwelling, then arrive at a track that runs alongside the river. Turn left, rejoin a beautiful track at a barrier and continue straight ahead to arrive at the road that leads to the site. Cross the river one last time and arrive at the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 348 m - Parking at the end of the Vallon de la Brague.
  2. 1 : km 0.17 - alt. 351 m - start of the trail
  3. 2 : km 0.9 - alt. 406 m - fork
  4. 3 : km 1.49 - alt. 423 m - Turn left onto a track
  5. 4 : km 1.94 - alt. 411 m - Path opposite
  6. 5 : km 3.14 - alt. 374 m - Path on the left to the north-east
  7. S/E : km 4.04 - alt. 347 m - Parking at the end of the Vallon de la Brague

Notes

Markings: yellow line and blue circle.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 29 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.1 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
brayman
brayman

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike on pleasantly varied and often shaded terrain.
GPS route very good, except perhaps at the tomb (turn right at the cistern)
At the cave dwelling, there are no signs to indicate private property. Continuing straight ahead, a rocky escarpment appears to show signs of a path, but we decided not to take it and instead used the prohibited path, which was fine.
Many thanks in advance to any local hikers who can provide further information.
Note that the parking area is particularly pleasant (and deserted at this time of year). However, the access road is narrow for about 1 km: be careful if you have a camper van in summer!

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Dahu67
Dahu67

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice hike, but you need to pay close attention to the signposts, especially towards the end of the trail (there is a poorly marked detour to bypass a private area).
A description of the ruins could have been included, for example, mentioning the ochre efflorescence and providing directions to the Neolithic tomb.

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kiwinousse
kiwinousse

A little more information about the holes and piles of stones after the Thollos.
These are actually excavations and remains left by the workers who built the Train des Pignes railway line connecting the Alpes Maritimes and Bouches du Rhône regions. (This line can easily be followed on certain hiking trails).
That's what I wanted to say, hoping it will be useful to some hikers.

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Freulonp
Freulonp

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The top of the hike isn't very well marked, but with the app on your phone, it's easy to find your way around

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Sac à dos et bâtons
Sac à dos et bâtons

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike. However, we had to turn back after the ruins at the highest point. We couldn't find the way. There were several yellow lines and blue dots, but no passable path
The only path that seemed passable was not signposted.

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mystic
mystic

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike through the woods, along the river, past ruins and red earth. It was a shame to hear gunshots on a Sunday afternoon, probably clay pigeon shooting. Surprising that it's allowed on a hot Sunday.
At point 4, it says to pass to the right of a ruin, but it's actually on the left.
At point 5, we got lost and couldn't find any signposts. We ended up at the Tholos de la Lauve site, which involved a descent of almost 1 km with nothing but graves and stones. It was impressive, and we returned via Route 2, which was 2.7 km long

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MBL
MBL

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, easy hike
This route corresponds to route no. 3 in Salerno, for which a free guidebook is available online. We added route no. 5, which allows you to visit the Tholos de la Lauve and the Sainte Barthélémy chapel in a single hike.
Part of the hill below the Tholos is dotted with holes, the origin of which we do not know. They could be excavations, but they are quite impressive in number.

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oponcin
oponcin

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful site with canyons, but the upper section, with the ruined village, caves and La Chapelle at the bottom, is not easy to navigate

Here is a video of the route: https://youtu.be/h2H5cChxkQQ

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facundo rando
facundo rando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful short hike with two children aged 7 and 9.
Varied landscapes and atmospheres, a chapel, a river, panoramic views from the megalithic tomb, forest, tree bark, wild flowers, white stones, red earth at the end... superb!
Be careful, we got lost on the way to the tomb, which is marked by small cairns and different coloured signs. In fact, the tomb is in the last quarter of the route. When you leave the forest, you climb up and then come to some white rocks with no vegetation. You need to keep going up and not down as the path indicates, otherwise you'll end up back where you started and miss the tomb and the view.
It was Sunday, and we came across about ten people.
There is indeed a chain and a private property sign at the end (only 200 or 300 metres away), then you come to a fire track that is open to the public.
We apologise to the owner for not finding the path to avoid crossing their property.
Could you, as the owner, mark the path to take to avoid passing through your property? Thank you in advance.

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f.maciejewski
f.maciejewski

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

please note that towards the end of the route, it is now impossible to cross a recently purchased property. Therefore, walk down the firebreak to reach the car park.

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bernard83LL
bernard83LL

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent site, don't hesitate to continue to the end of the valley to discover some superb caves. A sign indicating the tholos (megalithic tomb) has been placed at crossroads no. 2. A few signposts are missing along the route

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Samovar
Samovar

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The view from up high is superb!

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jolo07
jolo07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Things to do in all seasons:
-spring: profusion of flowers and birds
- summer: shade and places to relax and picnic
-autumn: beautiful colours of different species of trees
- winter: to be discovered in a few months

Easy and varied route

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lecac16
lecac16

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 05, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A superb walk, fairly easy, we followed the bed of the Brague stream, where the caves are accessible as there is no water at this time of year. The stone in these caves is a beautiful colour and the vegetation is very diverse.
It's worth doing, it's fairly easy and you stay cool. The chapel is closed but very well maintained (visible through the gate).

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Sbalastegui
Sbalastegui

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 08, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

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