Route de la Combe à la Serpent

Use the Hautes Plates car park, accessible from the Route de Corcelles (D108g).

(S/E) Turn right then left onto a wide white path.

(1) Continue to the left, then pass under the astronomical observatory. Continue straight ahead above the Combe de Morgemain, with great views of Corcelles and Mont Afrique opposite. Descend to the bottom of the valley.

(2) Climb up to the right via a steep path. At the first intersection, take the path on the right and head for the Aviators' Memorial, which is signposted. A plaque commemorates the accident in August 1930 that claimed the lives of four aviators.

(3) Continue up the path towards the plateau and, after 250 m, turn right onto the white path. You will come to a large triangular fork.

(4) Keep left on the white path and follow the edge of the forest. At the end, you will reach a large white path. Turn right and stay on this path, leaving another path on your left that leads to the small road from Corcelles to Plombières. You will arrive at the top of Combe de la Perrière.

(5) Look for the sign for the apiary among the many signs and follow the small dirt path that descends to the right of Combe de la Perrière. Continue straight ahead, following the signs to the apiary, until you reach a large cadole, a dry stone building on the right, which has been very well restored.

(6) Continue down the valley until you reach the Perrière spring on the left, with the vat on the right and the receptacle, similar to a lavogne in the Grands Causses. The whole area is fenced off.

(7) Continue downhill until you reach the Combe de Megdit. Follow the signs, turning left for a short climb, then right onto the path towards the apiary. When you reach a large wall on the left, climb the few steps before turning left and heading towards the dry stone apiary: beehives made of flat stones placed upright and inserted into the wall.

(8) Go back down the steps and take the small dirt path straight ahead. The first section is a slightly steep descent, with another cadole (stone shelter) immediately on the right, then a hilly path along the side of Coteau Bessey. Follow it through the boxwood and moss until you reach a small descent and come out onto a large path at the bottom of Combe à la Serpent.

(9) Turn right until you reach a large intersection, then take the large white path on the left towards Giron. After 200 metres, leave it and turn right for a steep climb through the undergrowth. Continue like this until you reach the second intersection on the right.

(10) Take the small dirt path that climbs very steeply towards rocks and cliffs, then zigzags through the woods above them. It leads to a wide white path on the plateau, which you should take to the right. Continue through the forest, noting a water reservoir on the right, then emerge onto the large Plateau d'En Quésant, with a wide view of Corcelles and Mont Afrique once again.

(11) Pass two cadoles on the left, one of which is a tumulus-like structure in the middle of the field. Continue along the main path for about a hundred metres until you reach another small, well-restored cadole on the right, at the edge of the path. Continue along this good white path, following the signs for the Hautes Plates car park. After the flat section at the large intersection, take the path up a steep climb on the left, followed by another steep climb after another intersection, which you should ignore to stay on the main path. This will take you back to the plateau.

(1) Turn left onto the path you started on to return to the car park (S/E).

Large car park at Les Hautes Plates, but it is also possible to start from the car park at Plombières, near (5).

Beautiful views of Corcelles and Mont Afrique, passing through small valleys such as La Perrière and Bessey.

Cadoles, traditional dry stone constructions, which are numerous in the Combe à la Serpent.