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The classic starting point is the car park on the Route de la Gineste (D559), opposite the Carpiagne military camp.
(S/E) Since access to the Col de la Gardiole is prohibited to vehicles, take this road straight south to the first bend.
(1) There, follow the sign for "Col de la Gardiole" on the left, then immediately right, and walk through the heath for a few hundred metres before starting a very stony and difficult descent that will take you back to the tarmac road. Continue 150 metres south and you will come to an uphill path marked with a double cross.
(2) Take this path as it saves time when climbing up to Col de la Gardiole. Continue straight ahead, crossing the road twice to reach Col de la Gardiole.
(3) At the pass and the old Gardiole car park, head south-west onto the track leading to the forest house and Calanque d'En-Vau. Follow this track downhill for about 3.5 km until you reach a three-way junction.
(4) At this point, just before elevation 71, turn right, heading due west, onto an uphill path that will take you to Col de l'Oule (elevation 174).
(5) Head west and take a path downhill on the right that leads to Vallon de l'Oule.
(6) After 500 m, don't miss a small steep path on the right that takes us to a small flat area at around 230 m.
(7) Turn right, heading north, to begin the descent and return to the Vallon de l'Oule, then climb back up towards the Col de la Fenêtre. There is only one path, so you can't go wrong.
(8) At this pass, take a clearly visible path opposite, descending towards the north-west.
This is where the real difficulties begin. Be careful not to miss a path that is not very visible on the right, 100 metres after the pass.
Be careful, it's a scree slope, not very long, and at the bottom you turn left for about a hundred metres to start a nice climb on the right, which takes you to a fork at about 250 m.
(9) Turn right and descend into the Vallon des Rampes. Then climb back up on the left, still heading north, until you reach a clearly visible cairn on the right ( see photo).
(10) At this cairn, turn 180° and start another leg-breaking climb, continuing straight ahead and ignoring a path on the left, which will take you around a large rock and up about 700 metres to 270 metres.
(11) Another steep climb to the left, heading north, then a long but gentler climb that will take you back to the Crêtes de l'Estret track at around 300 m.
(12) Turn left and follow the path uphill until you reach the track that will take you back to the Col de la Gardiole on the right.
(3) Then simply take the path on the left in the opposite direction, which will take us back to the car park on the Route de la Gineste (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Very difficult 
