From Escoussens to the Mouscaillou Waterfall

There is a pretty waterfall to see, unless there is a drought like the one in 2022.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.70 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 599 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 599 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 644 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 265 m

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the Escoussens stadium.

(S/E) Head towards the centre of the village and take the stairs on the left opposite the school. Continue along Rue Malbec, Rue Badorc and Rue Prat Marivalle.

(1) At the end of the street, turn left towards En Barthès and follow this direction.

(2) Take the Sentier d'En Barthès cul-de-sac, then pass to the right of the farm of the same name and continue to the next fork.

(3) Turn left, then left again. Leave the two paths on the left and join a forest track, which you take to the left until you reach a place called La Blancarié.

(4) At the hamlet, turn right onto Chemin de La Resclause to reach the exotic garden on the left. Follow the Ruisseau de la Prune stream, then cross it, following the yellow markers leading to the Cascade du Ruisseau du Mouscaillou waterfall. To reach the waterfall, you have to climb over a rock, which is not dangerous but can be slippery if it rains.

(5) Turn around and head right for about 500 metres to reach a forest track.

(6) Turn right and keep right at the next fork on a forest track.

(7) Cross the Mouscaillou stream (dilapidated hut opposite) and continue on the same track until you reach a junction of several paths.

(8) Stay on the track to the right at 180° and continue north-west to the end of this gravel track.

(9) Turn left onto the path, keep right at the fork, and continue until you reach another fork.

(10) Turn right and join a new forest track.

(11) Turn left and stay on the track until you reach Les Miquelles, a house with a white gate.

(12) Turn right and return to the En Barthès crossroads from the outward journey.

(1: Turn left onto Rue des Chartreux, then left again onto Rue du Château, then cross Rue des Coustous. Go down the steps to Rue Basse and follow the same route as on the way there to return to the stadium) S/E::.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 266 m - Village stadium
  2. 1 : km 0.47 - alt. 290 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 0.96 - alt. 328 m - Impasse d'En Barthès
  4. 3 : km 1.68 - alt. 426 m - Fork
  5. 4 : km 3.65 - alt. 334 m - Place known as La Blancarié
  6. 5 : km 6.45 - alt. 566 m - Mouscaillou Stream Waterfall
  7. 6 : km 7 - alt. 508 m - Forest track
  8. 7 : km 8.54 - alt. 600 m - Mouscaillou stream
  9. 8 : km 9.4 - alt. 644 m - Crossroads
  10. 9 : km 10.54 - alt. 537 m - Exit onto a gravel track.
  11. 10 : km 12.19 - alt. 429 m - Fork
  12. 11 : km 13.2 - alt. 360 m - New forest track
  13. 12 : km 14 - alt. 307 m - Place known as Les Miquelles
  14. S/E : km 14.7 - alt. 266 m - Village stadium

Notes

This hike follows parts of thePR® trail (yellow markers) but some sections are unmarked and others are blocked by yellow crosses.
On the proposed route, there is a hunter's hut at Carlaret towards the end of the hike. Another nice hut with tables and chairs is located at Pioch del Souc, but you have to leave the route just before point (9). Go to the hut and continue on this path to point (10).

Worth a visit

The village of Escoussens is located in the foothills of the Montagne Noire in the heart of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park. Here you will see half-timbered houses, a bread oven, wooden keystones, crosses and lintels, the exterior of the 12th-century castle and the Church of Saint-Sernin with its murals.
Not far from the village are the Fontbruno Monument and the Corps-franc de la Montagne Noire.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.9 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
BTD
BTD

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

A beautiful walk, especially in the woods, done in good weather. A bit pressed for time to get back, I took a shortcut along the forest road on the right, descending towards La Blancarié. Then there was a pleasant climb up to the waterfall, which is very pretty. The return to Escoussens along the forest road is a bit tedious. It would be nice to have some views at times, but you're in the woods the whole time. The old village of Escoussens is worth a visit: market hall, church, castle ruins.

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Muc31
Muc31

A very beautiful hike in nature with flowers and birds. The waterfall is a lovely surprise. However, the route to reach the waterfall is not reliable.

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Garricou
Garricou

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with lots of paths through the woods, perfect for hot days! Please note that access to the waterfall is after point 6, via a path on the right.
If you take the route indicated in the description and GPS, you will be off-trail through woods and bushes.
The multi-level waterfall is magnificent!

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Muc31
Muc31

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike that we only did from point 4, and we easily found our way back. The waterfall is very beautiful and it's best to bring a small towel for crossing the stream.
The route is very pleasant, through the forest, with beautiful vegetation.

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janine.moulie@wanadoo.fr
janine.moulie@wanadoo.fr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

WELL-MARKED ROUTE NO PARTICULAR DIFFICULTIES BEAUTIFUL WATERFALL THANK YOU

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FlourVonElfic
FlourVonElfic

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk that should be well shaded in summer.
Trails are in good condition and the hike is not technically difficult.
The path to the waterfall is offset from the trail.

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KATELINE1976
KATELINE1976

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk in beautiful autumn sunshine.
In my opinion, the most interesting part is the section through the forest leading up to the waterfall.
The waterfall is very pretty and quite impressive due to its water flow, which is significant in November.
I recommend following the GPS route as there are virtually no landmarks, or they have been removed.

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LULUETULYSSE
LULUETULYSSE

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Much of this hike involves steep climbs. I did it on 7 September, which was still a hot day, so make sure you take it slowly.
Rated as moderate, I would say moderate +++.
At this time of year, there wasn't much water flowing from the waterfall, but some people were still able to cool off.
Spring is the best time to see a much more abundant waterfall, but in any case, the forest in this area is very beautiful to walk through.

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Dominique Gente
Dominique Gente
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant walk, often in the shade (great on hot days!!!)
The first part is easy to follow with a slight incline, and there is a cute little waterfall where you can picnic.
But from point 7 onwards, it's best to follow the route on your GPS if you don't want to get too lost among all the paths.
The second part is less interesting
The village of Escoussens is nice to explore

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petitbob
petitbob
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Good evening, fellow hikers.
A magnificent hike in the cool air with lunch under the Mouscaillou waterfall (moucheron). A superb walk, recommended in very hot weather. However, a hundred metres before reaching the waterfall, the path has been swallowed up by vegetation. A good path above leads there without any problems. And then the pretty village of Escoussense has incredible charm. I recommend this pleasant walk, thank you Visorando, petitbob. (Yes, be careful, there are no markings.)

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iSenior
iSenior
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you, the waterfall with its different stepped drops is really beautiful, and the flow was strong even for 1 June!
However, the description of the route between points 4 and 6 is insufficient, especially if you have GPS problems, as I did. In addition, progress along the path beside the Prune stream was difficult due to runoff water. The route is almost entirely in the forest, which is good to know in hot weather.

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p.lambrechts
p.lambrechts
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

To do in all seasons

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