In the Pays d'Aigues: from Grambois to La Bastide-des-Jourdans

Park in the school car park on Chemin de Barraban.

(S/E) Return to the D122, turn left and at the roundabout, ignore Rue de l'Enclos on the right (another possible car park) and continue straight ahead onto Montée des Remparts. You will come to a flight of steps on the right.

(2) Go down these stairs, which lead to the Grambois boules court, cross it directly opposite and take the wide staircase that passes under the tree known as the lord of the village, a magnificent centuries-old oak tree.
Go down these stairs, which have an iron handrail, then turn right to pass in front of a wash house and one of the village's springs. Please note: the water is not suitable for consumption due to its excessive limestone content.
From the wash house, go down the path and, after passing a fenced garden on the left, immediately take the small path that branches off to the right.
Follow this path, which becomes a track and then a path again, and pass over an esplanade where there are two benches from which you can enjoy the view of the Luberon. Continue downhill.

(2) Cross a stream called the Torrent in the Coq ravine via an iron footbridge (André Bonnet footbridge). Then climb steeply, passing a ruin to reach a track called the Chemin du Coq. Note the many sweet peas along this stretch.
Take the Chemin du Coq on the right, leaving a path that leads to a house on your right. You will come to a crossroads where three paths lead off.

(3) Take the path furthest to the left. Immediately pass in front of a small house and continue along the path, which climbs gently.
You will come to a^first crossroads. Leave the path on the right and continue straight ahead. The path continues to climb gently with mule tracks (grooves carved into the rock).
Join a tarmac road and follow it for 100 m before turning onto a path on the left.

(4) Follow this narrow path, which climbs very slightly and then levels out. A few hundred metres further on, you will come to a barrier marking the end of an unpaved road leading to a house.

(5) Take this road on the right and immediately look for a small, discreet path that branches off to the left. It is well marked from then on. Take this path, staying fairly close to the road.
Follow it until you reach a wide path leading to a house.

(6) Take this path on the left and, immediately after the first bend, take the wide path through the woods that branches off to the right onto the Crête de la Sarrière.
This wide path, where you will still find many sweet peas, then narrows. Follow it until it climbs to a large field called Le Signal de Piegros.
Leave this field on your right and follow a path heading due north for 40 metres, then take the first path on the right; follow it for 100 metres and take the path at a right angle on the left.

(7) Take this path, which descends steeply for 50 metres, then climbs slightly before descending again.
You will come to a fence surrounding a property.
To avoid this property, 20 m before the fence, descend to the left and find a small path that branches off to the left and continues downhill to a large, clearly visible olive grove; walk along the right-hand side of this field and, after a left-hand bend, you will reach a path that branches off diagonally to the right.

(8) Take this path, pass a rusty chain, then take the path that climbs to the left.
Follow this path for 120 metres until you reach a new three-way junction; turn left and then, 200 metres further on, at another three-way junction, take the path on the right. Descend towards the village of La Bastide-des-Jourdans, which is clearly visible.
Follow the main path, avoiding any side paths. Leave the main path that branches off to the left (this section is not marked on the map or GPS) and take the path that descends to the right.
Leave another path on the right and continue straight ahead on the same small path; you will reach a well-marked dirt road that borders a large field.
Follow this road to the left.
At the tarmac road, turn right to reach the Sulphurous Spring and the dam, now disappeared, of Bastide-des-Jourdans, then the Chapel of Our Lady of Consolation.

(9) Walk past the chapel on your right and continue along the tarmac road. At the first crossroads, ignore Rue des Écoles on your left and take the CR324 de Beaumont on your right, which is also the^GR® 9.
Follow the tarmac road marked^GR® 9 and you will soon arrive at the site of the old dam, clearly visible on the left.
The tarmac road quickly becomes a dirt track; continue along it.
After a kilometre, the path becomes narrower and less like a track; it continues to climb and runs alongside a field on your left; a little further on, it runs alongside a second field.
The path climbs steeply (still on the^GR®9).
You will reach a small plateau where wood from the nearby Forestry Centre is stored; this is the place known as Pié de Gache (elevation 533).

(10) Leave the^GR®9and take the hairpin track on the right.
Stay on this track, which quickly leads to a ruin.
Pass the ruins and further on, leave the main track and turn left towards the field we walked along earlier.
This time, when you reach the field, go straight ahead and cross it, following the central hedge; at the end of the field, take the track that branches off to the right and climbs slightly.
At the first left-hand bend, you will come to the water tower and electricity meter; start the descent; 150 m further on, at the first crossroads, turn off.

(11) Take the path that branches off to the right for a few hundred metres to reach a small field, walk along it and head for the left-hand end opposite, where the trail starts.

(12) Follow this path, ignoring a path on the left; continue for another 600 metres to reach a dirt road at the crossroads you passed on the way up at Crête de la Sarrière.

(6) Turn left and retrace your steps to the car park in the village of Grambois (S/E).

This circular route can also be done in one direction (preferably from Grambois to La Bastide-des-Jourdans) if you have two vehicles. This shortens the route (and makes it easier) and avoids the return section via the^GR® 9, which is a little tedious, even if the rest of the route is much more pleasant.
This walk is best done in spring to avoid the heat and enjoy the beauty of the flora; autumn can also be a good season.
During this walk, as is often the case in the region, you will cross properties belonging to private individuals, whether woods or fields; it goes without saying that you should take extra care, as is customary, not to disturb the many inhabitants of these places.

Visit the magnificent villages of Grambois and La Bastide-des-Jourdans.
Grambois, a village dating back to the 11th century, is perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Eze valley; this village is known for its fountains and its paved slanting street.
La Bastide-des-Jourdans is nestled in the Eze valley and has benefited from its proximity to numerous transport links in the valley. Here you will find a castle (private), the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Consolation (a listed monument) and many tourist attractions, including the disused Colombier dam, which is said to have served as a model for the Serre-Ponçon dam.
After your walk, you can take a dip in the Bonde pond and even have lunch there. This magnificent and romantic site, close to the village of La Motte-d'Aigue, is located at the foot of the Luberon.