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Park in the shaded, free car park at Plage des Elmes in Banyuls-sur-Mer, which unfortunately gets very busy in the summer season.
To get there, follow the D914 to Plage des Elmes. Turn right if coming from Banyuls or left if coming from Port-Vendres, at the corner of the Hôtel des Elmes. Walk past the hotel and then turn right downhill.
The entire hike is marked with high-quality yellowPR®® signs and yellow directional signs at major intersections.
(S/E) Return to the road and walk along the beach on your right. At the hotel junction, continue on the pavement on the right for about 100 metres.
Contrary to thePR®® route, which is incorrect on the IGN map, do not continue straight ahead but turn right onto the tarmac access road to the heliotherapy centre and walk alongside it. Continue along the path that follows the tarmac and climbs slightly to overlook a small beach on your right. At the first crossroads, continue to the right, then at the next crossroads (cairn), turn left at a right angle and walk about thirty metres along a wide dirt track.
(1) Take the narrow path on the right, which brings you back closer to the sea, then curves to the left before joining a wide track. Follow this track to the left, then continue to the right at the next junction to reach a small car park. Turn sharply to the right. At the next junction (not shown on the IGN map), marked by a cairn and a signpost, turn left to reach a small, partially tarmac road.
(2) Follow the road to the left and go through a green metal barrier that prevents vehicle access. Walk past a few houses on the left that border Plage del Forat, then a wall made of cement slabs on the right. Leave a wide dirt track on your left that goes around the old buildings of the Nobel dynamite factory in Paulilles.
Opposite a large brown metal gate, leave the road and turn right onto a path to enter the Paulilles site. Cross the pleasant shaded esplanade, whose floor is covered with wooden slats, and continue along a wide cemented path that passes by an observation tower on the left before leading to a metal footbridge that spans the Rec de Cosprons, which is usually dry.
Cross the footbridge and climb the stairs that follow. After about 50 metres on flat ground, turn left at a right angle to go through a short tunnel and continue along the cliff-top path that runs alongside concrete structures on the left before reaching Bernardi Beach.
(3) Cross the beach, passing the restaurant on your left, then turn left to reach a grassy esplanade. Turn right, following the concrete wall, and continue to the end of the beach to find the path (marker post).
Follow this path, which alternates between descents and ascents, with numerous steps, some of which are very high and can be hard on the joints. Pass the cove and the tiny Balanti Beach to reach a large intersection marked by an imposing cairn.
(4) Descend to the right on the path, which once again resembles a roller coaster, before reaching Ansa Santa Catarina, where you will pass between a few houses before arriving at an intersection.
(5) Turn left to begin a fairly steep climb made up of cement steps in places, leading to the access road to the Béar Lighthouse (Chemin du Cap Béar). Follow this road to the left, climbing slightly for about a hundred metres, then turn right onto a path that climbs around the Béar Semaphore before rejoining the road you left earlier.
(6) Cross over and take the path almost opposite (signpost) which runs parallel to the road and leads to a crossroads at the foot of Fort Béar.
(7) Turn right and follow the well-marked path, which first overlooks the road and then turns right to rejoin it. Turn left and continue for about 50 metres.
(8) Leave the road and follow a path on the right (signpost). Do not take the wide track on the right which starts at the same point and leads to a group of houses.
The path is flat at first and runs parallel to the road for a while, then branches off to the right and descends to a small car park at the entrance to the Port-Vendres jetty. Follow the road to the left for about 60 metres, then take the path on the right which goes around the ruins of the Mailly Battery.
(9) Return to the road at a small dirt car park. Then turn right until you reach the tunnel entrance.
Leave the road and take the wide dirt track on the right that goes around the Redoute Béar before joining the tarmac road opposite a motorhome area. Follow the road to the right, passing the port facilities of Port-Vendres. Go past the roundabout with a magnificent solitary palm tree and cross at the pedestrian crossing to reach the start of a cement track.
(10) Follow this track until you reach a road. Cross at the pedestrian crossing or at the old level crossing, which is still marked, located just next to it, and turn right onto a cement track running parallel to the road. At the next roundabout, cross the first pedestrian crossing on the left, then the second on the right, and continue along Quai de la République, staying on the left-hand pavement.
Once you reach the port, use the pedestrian crossing on the right and walk past the harbour master's office. Then, turn left across the car park to reach the Quai F. Joly roundabout. Cross one last time to reach the bus stop opposite (E).
Visorando member
Very difficult 
Difficult 
