Dolomites and Ragages from Belgentier

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The hike begins with a walk through the pretty village of Belgentier. It then climbs via theGR®9and 51 trails through oak and pine woods to the Pas de Belgentier. The trail heads south, offering magnificent views and some geological curiosities. The descent to the village is steep, along steep paths, and ends with a beautiful, partially stone-paved path in a pretty valley.

Details

n°8283296
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.76 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 568 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 569 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 618 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 146 m
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Photos

Ragage du Menhir
Altar of the church of Belgentier
Belgentier

Description of the walk

In Belgentier, park in the car parks along the castle grounds on the D554.

(S/E) Cross the grounds of Nicolas Peiresc's castle and cross the Gapeau via the small footbridge. Head west up the cobbled street to Place Peiresc, recognisable by the majestic sequoia tree that stands in its centre.
Then continue, turning right and then left until you reach the clearly marked start ofthe GR® trail.

(1) Leave theGR® for a moment and rejoin it 200 metres further west. Continue on theGR® to reach Pas de Belgentier, where the GR® 51 and 9 separate.

(2) Turn left onto the GR®51, heading south-west, along the wide track.

(3) At the hairpin bend, ignore the track that branches off to the right. At the end of the hairpin bend, look for the cairn on the right. This rocky path leads to the beautiful Garoute arch a few dozen metres away.
Return to the main track.

(4) On this section, the path offers beautiful views of the sea, particularly at the underground cistern (STS12). Continue south

(5) You will arrive at a large intersection of tracks, the starting point for the round trip to Les Ragages. Head to Le Ragage du Tank: a geological curiosity, a kind of large natural well located right next to the track.

(6) Continue to a small cairn on the right where you will find Ragage du Menhir and a beautiful menhir, unfortunately somewhat overgrown with vegetation.

(7) Continue on to reach Ragage de la Galère: this is located closest to the track on the left.

(8) From there, retrace your steps to the large intersection of tracks.

(5) Leave theGR® and take the track that descends to the right, towards the east. Go through thefirst wooden gate, ignoring the few GR® markings. You will reach asecond wooden gate, which you must not go through.

(9) Take the path on the left heading north, the entrance to which is slightly hidden by vegetation. This narrow, sometimes steep path descends rapidly towards Belgentier.

(10) At the junction with a small tarmac road, take it to the left for about 1 km. It offers some interesting sights.

(11) At this intersection, turn right and then, a few metres further on, turn left onto the beautiful stone path leading into the valley.

(12) Turn left at the junction with the road, cross the Gapeau and go through the village again. Continue towards the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and admire the fresco on the small square, on the outer wall of the church (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 153 m - Parc Peiresc on the D554 - Gapeau (fleuve)
  2. 1 : km 1.69 - alt. 226 m - Track on the right
  3. 2 : km 3.32 - alt. 538 m - Pas de Belgentier (537 m)
  4. 3 : km 3.62 - alt. 574 m - L'arche de garoute
  5. 4 : km 4.08 - alt. 603 m - Buried cistern STS12 - Viewpoint
  6. 5 : km 6.21 - alt. 561 m - GR intersection and return path
  7. 6 : km 6.96 - alt. 611 m - Ragage du Tank
  8. 7 : km 7.14 - alt. 613 m - Ragage du Menhir
  9. 8 : km 7.19 - alt. 607 m - Ragage de la Gélère
  10. 9 : km 8.62 - alt. 505 m - 2nd barrier
  11. 10 : km 10.45 - alt. 261 m - Road junction
  12. 11 : km 11.48 - alt. 225 m - Fork
  13. 12 : km 12.24 - alt. 152 m - Road junction
  14. S/E : km 12.75 - alt. 152 m - Parc Peiresc on the D554

Notes

No major difficulties.
No vertiginous areas.
Most of the route is onGR® trails, with no orientation difficulties. However, be careful when navigating on the return journey as there are no reliable markings.
Good footwear is essential and walking sticks are recommended, particularly for the descent on a narrow, steep path.
Beautiful vegetation: oak and pine trees, white and pink rockroses, asphodels and euphorbias enhance the hike, even if some argelats prove to be unforgiving.
There are no water sources along the route.

Worth a visit

Near (S/E) Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Church, admire the fresco on the small square on the outside wall of the church.
Between (2) and (4) The natural bridge of Garoute, a beautiful 16-metre-wide arch, shelters a man-made water collection point.

Ragage: geological curiosity. A narrow fault measuring a few decimetres to a few metres wide, opening onto natural wells that can be several metres deep.

Dolomite is a sedimentary rock composed of calcium and magnesium carbonate. The name of this mineral, Dolomite, was given in honour of the mineralogist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, who discovered this limestone in the Tyrolean Alps in 1791.

 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.

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Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 16 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Aquariel
Aquariel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The park is very beautiful at this time of year with the autumn colours.
You have to look carefully to find the cairns! From our vantage point, the one next to the menhir was the most visible and easiest to find. We pushed on to the Bear one, as indicated in the comments. It is located just 80 metres from point 8, but was a little disappointing (lacking in spectacularity?). At the end of the trail, the visual curiosities are amusing. We finished with a visit to the church, which has an imposing altar.

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CARLE
CARLE

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

we start with an ascent that reaches the plateau above the Valbelle needles. Good footwear is essential as 90% of the route is rocky and in the undergrowth. Lunch is on the plateau at the buried cistern. The rest of the route is in the undergrowth, with small chasms that are worth seeing out of curiosity the descent is just as difficult as the climb, very slippery with 80% humidity and frequent slips. At the bottom of the descent, there is a large rockfall marked on the route. The path continues below it on the left
The route ends on a small tarmac road. That's it for this hike.

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Ladilafee
Ladilafee

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike almost exclusively in the forest.
A little-used path.
I really enjoyed it.
No particular difficulties

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coligneaux
coligneaux

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Classic hike with one ascent and one descent on narrow, slippery trails in case of rain, as we experienced. Apart from the three scrapes, nothing exceptional, as the return trip is on very narrow forest trails and technical descents for beginners. Many natural steps both uphill and downhill. Pretty village.

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jc.duvanel
jc.duvanel

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

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

I wonder if I took the same route as some of the other hikers who posted their reviews, but I found this route difficult and uninteresting. Why? Because 90% of the hike, if not more, is under trees, so there are very few breaks with views. After a long climb, you hope to be rewarded. You are, in part, with the Arche de la Garoute, but you've already seen it and it's easier to access from Siou Blanc. Then the two ravines (the third is so-so) are impressive. But for the rest, the ridge road has no views. As for the descent, I found it endless, tiring and uninteresting because it's always under the trees. Finally, the little gravel path is quite nice, but it really wasn't worth going so high! Perhaps the season (February) is responsible for this disappointment, as the sun was scarce, often hidden by the hill to the west. I agree with the other reviews that the distance is underestimated, but that's not a big deal.

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APM#83
APM#83

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Longer distance than indicated: 15.3 km on a GPS watch and a hiking GPS. The descent is a bit technical and not very well marked. Otherwise, a nice, enjoyable hike.

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Annie GAY
Annie GAY

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with varied terrain and landscapes.
The Garoute arch is impressive. The rock formations are interesting, but we had to search to find them.
The route seemed a little longer than expected. I noted 14.5 km.
We were alone on the trail except for three mountain bikers. What a pleasure!
Thank you for this hike!

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TANAGRETTE
TANAGRETTE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route with beautiful views and a welcome stop on the way back for a shandy in front of the church fresco.
While the Garoute arch is definitely worth a detour, the ravines are of very limited interest, especially the two abysses, as there are much more impressive ones on the Siou Blanc plateau.
With a GPS, it is easy to follow the route. The distance is a little longer than advertised, by about 1 km.

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BackPacker
BackPacker

Thanks for the information about the bear's ragai. I'll go and check it out.
Glad you enjoyed the route.

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Belette83
Belette83

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A route that piqued my curiosity... and was truly fabulous!
Well, I pushed on to the bear's den, which is on the left along the path and only 80 metres further than the galley...
It's worth the trip on its own...

The route is magnificent and deserted!
I did it with my dog and my husband today... no regrets... thank you

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phildaix
phildaix

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

On the map:
- the starting point is not easy to find; you have to go to the Valbelle path, which is where the GR trail begins. You can park next to the tennis courts, which is more convenient than parking at Peresc Park.
- the instruction to "temporarily leave the GR" is misleading because there are two paths that branch off to the right before the one you need to take, and especially because the path you need to take is marked as GR
- for your information, at the Belgentier pass, there is no separation between GR 51 and 9; the GR 51 does not pass through there.
Overall, there must have been changes to the GR routes...
- the rest of the guidebook is consistent with the route.

About the hike: it is very interesting (rock forest, beautiful undergrowth and magnificent finish); don't miss the arch or the interior of Belgentier Church, it's worth it: thank you for this hiking idea.

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garance1850
garance1850

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We were a group of eight hikers. Belgentier is a beautiful village worth discovering. But giving this route five stars is overrated. The arch is pretty, and the three sinkholes (actually karstic caves) are visually interesting. The route is nice, but overall I think it deserves three stars, not five. In any case, our whole group was happy to have done it once. In terms of distance, I recorded 14.5 km, not 12.76 km.

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BOUSSEROLLES
BOUSSEROLLES

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful viewpoint with lovely surprises

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ANDRERANDONNEES
ANDRERANDONNEES

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant short hike, but be aware that it is quite steep in some places.
Very pretty and pleasant woodland.

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pascal83
pascal83

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk that begins with a visit to the pretty village of Belgentier.

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