Country:
City:
Park in the car park alongside the D172, situated almost opposite the Restaurant de la Vallée.
This route is partly marked in yellow and partly marked in red and white as part ofthe GR®®36.
GR®®36red andwhite markings and yellow markings
(S/E) From the car park, head left towards the tunnel. Pass through the tunnel very carefully. Continue in the same way along the narrow footpath. At the Fork in the road, take the left-hand road down to walk alongside the River Tarn, looking down on it. The gravel path ends at the Route de Trébas, the D77.
At the departmental road, take a sharp right-hand bend. Turn left at the first junction onto the Route du Blasou. Ignore a side road leading uphill to the right. The Route du Blasou crosses a bridge and climbs up to the front of a house.
(1) In front of the house, turn right onto the narrow path. The path climbs for about 800 m. At the junction of paths, it descends back onto the road, with Vinçou on your right. At the road, move slightly to the left to continue along the road almost directly opposite. Walk alongside a disused vineyard.
(2) Turn onto the path that climbs to the left. This is the second ascent leading to Puech Cabot, the first of the two puechs. The slope levels out as you approach the farm of the same name. There are views of the valleys on either side of the grassy path. The priory of Ambialet and the transmission pylon can be seen on the horizon. Continue to the T-junction.
Yellow markings
(3) Leave theGR®®36by turning right to follow the yellow markings. Ignore a path branching off to the right. The road gives way to a wide dirt track. Pass between the small building and the entrance to the Borie Grande estate. At a nearby fork in the road (not shown on IGN maps), head down to the right along the overgrown path. Further on, the grass gives way to earth and stones. The path descends, takes a hairpin bend to the right and ends at the D94 road to Alban.
(4) At the road, cross it. Head into the woods opposite. The wide dirt track winds and undulates until it reaches La Resse. Signposts are in place to indicate the direction to follow.
(5) Carry on, leaving the Resse on your left. Very soon, the path veers slightly to the left, opening out onto a meadow. Walk along the edge of the meadow, following the track alongside the wooded hedge. Further on, the track widens and crosses the woodland before joining the Route de Vinçou.
At the road, turn left and cross the bridge over the Ruisseau de Blasou. After the bridge, continue to the right. Walk along the road, which is roughly level, until you reach the access track to the Plô farm (letterbox by the roadside).
(6) Take the track leading towards the farm. One hundred metres further on, turn onto the path on the left, Impasse du Plô. The wide track winds gently uphill amongst chestnut trees, running parallel to the Route de Vinçou, which remains above. It joins this road.
Cross it. Climb up the small path opposite to reach the Route de Villefranche, the D74. Cross the road to rejoin theGR®®36.
GR®®36red andwhite markings and yellow markings
(7) Walk past the wayside cross. Continue on and turn right towards the dirt and stony track. Climb gradually up to the transmission pylon. This is the second hilltop on the route.
(8) In front of the entrance to the pylon, take the narrow, grassy path on the left. Covered in grass, it quickly becomes stony. This is a very steep and very technical descent.
Halfway down, the path consists of stones and schist boulders.
One large boulder, in particular, is a good spot to pause and take in the magnificent view over the Ambialet isthmus.
Further down, in front of the ruins of Château Saint-Raphaël, turn left.
At the end of the descent, a few steps lead down to the D172. Cross the road with great care.
Turn right to return to the car park (A/D).
Visorando Member
Easy 
