Rieussec Route

Park in the car park south of Vélieux Town Hall.

^GR® 77 signposting (two white-and-red stripes)

(S/E) Return towards the town hall and the church.

(1) Continue along the D179 following the^GR®77. On leaving the village and before the hamlet of La Borie, leave the road and take a side track to the right. Return to the D179 for a few hundred metres. You will then come to a crossroads.

(2) At the junction, stay on the^GR® which heads left, linked to the Réseau Vert. Head towards the D907, the road to Saint-Pons. Cross it carefully to reach the D179 opposite, heading towards the Lacan lodge estate. Arrive at the entrance to the holiday accommodation.

Leave the marked trail

(3) Leave^{the GR®} 77 and Réseau Vert behind by taking the path on the left. Climb up the winding path beneath Mont Tressou. Cross the Barbichot ravine and then the Prades ravine. After a detour to the east, tackle a steeper slope, then turn west and, after a flat section, resume the climb. Navigate two more bends and reach the junction with the Chemin du Mont Tressou.

(4) Ignore the path on the right leading to the summit and turn left. Take the right-hand bend at the next curve and pass beneath the hillock, descending towards the north-east. Reach the junction at the start of the Talweg des Canals.

(5) Head straight ahead and join the DFCI AVM16 track coming from the Col de Lalo. Follow it to the left to reach the junction with the Chemin du Relais des Taragals.

(6) Turn right. The concrete-striped road provides good grip on the steep descent to Rieussec. Reach the village after crossing the Gleizes stream via a culvert. Head right towards the church, where there are benches and tables in a small wood adjacent to Square A. Barreau.

(7) Head left towards the cemetery, then walk past the town hall. Note ‘Horus’ on your left, the name given to the marble statue erected on a stone plinth. Turn left onto the bridge over the Rieussec stream and follow Rue des Taillades to the D907 road, passing the sewage treatment plant. Cross it carefully and, at the end of the bridge parapet, take the path that runs alongside the Rieussec stream beneath the D907. You will arrive near the Pont de Calmel Equestrian Centre.

(8) Avoid the estate by turning right in front of a wire-mesh gate. Cross the Rieussec, which is often dry at this point, and pass in front of two tarpaulin-covered tunnels used to store fodder. Open a gate and close it securely before tackling a steep slope to reach the Devès pastures to the south-west. Repeat this process three more times to cross pastures for sheep and horses.

(9) After the^fourth cleared passage, take the DFCI track. Via Le Cabanis, head towards the D147. After the bend just past this point, there are two options:
- go round the buildings, keeping to the right-hand side of the perimeter fence, to descend along the stream and rejoin the path north of La Figuière, which links up with the road at point 11 via a stony path rather than tarmac; this route is not marked,
- go over the poultry buildings (laying hens) and reach a DFCI water tank.

(10) Turn left onto the road heading south, and reach the Figuière crossroads.

(11) Continue along the road until you reach a right-hand bend.

Specific Réseau Vert markings (green cylinders)

(12) Turn left onto the access path to the Moulin de Trédos lodges, following the Grande Traversée de l'Hérault.

(13) Cross the Ruisseau de Rieussec via a bridge. Stay on the marked path as you pass the area where three nature lodges are available to rent.

(13) Head up the valley along a fairly steep path until you reach a road on the plateau.

Leave the Réseau Vert

(14) On the ridge, leave the marked trail and head down towards Vélieux, where there is a ‘no through road’ sign. Pass the entrance to a house on the right. Turn right at the next fork. Descend along a stony path through the woodland, then continue on level ground to reach the top of the village.

(1) Retrace a section of the outward route in the opposite direction to return to the car park located after the town hall (S/E)

(S/E) Near the village hall, a small copse ‘sheltered’ a few picnic tables.
The Réseau Vert®: the Grande Traversée de l’Hérault, better known as the Réseau Vert, is a hiking route that crosses the entire Hérault department, following the network of licensed estates, and is designed for hikers, horse riders and mountain bikers. Its distinctive signposting, consisting of 60 cm tall green metal cylinders at every junction and repeated every 500 m, allows everyone to plan their own adventure in complete safety. Information sheets are available on request from the Hérault General Council or can be downloaded from the internet.
Please note: the recent establishment of a laying hen farm has forced the author to route the trail around the poultry buildings via the Route de Boisset, which fortunately is not very busy. This section of the route may leave the impression of a less well-preserved natural environment, even though it runs through one of the areas of the Haut Languedoc Regional Nature Park.

(7) In Rieussec, stop to admire the marble statue of Horus, created by Mansour El Mansi, a renowned sculptor who teaches art at an Egyptian university. Here, he presents a symbolic representation of the god Horus, an elegant moon resting upon the bird.
Don’t hesitate to drive to the site of Minerve, a Cathar town besieged by the armies of Simon de Monfort during the Albigensian Crusade. The^GR® 77 trail connects Vélieux to Minerve.