Cedar Forest, Combe du Sautadou and the Portalas

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An easy hike offering splendid views of the villages of the Luberon and then the southern slope of the massif. Arrive in the Cedar Forest to complete your knowledge of the Luberon on the botanical trail.

Details

n°1792873
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.41 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 524 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 525 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 707 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 354 m
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Photos

The Philippe Tower
Southern Luberon towards Portalas
Combe du Sautadou
Bonnieux

Description of the walk

Climb up to the Route des Cèdres near Bonnieux and park in the Forêt de Cèdres car park.

(S/E) Head back down the road until you reach the Peyrafio signpost.

(1) Take the path on the left that indicates the village of Bonnieux. This path descends down the hillside, offering magnificent views of Mont Ventoux, the village of Lacoste and then Bonnieux nearby. You will reach a Y-junction.

(2) Leave the path that continues downhill towards Bonnieux and take a smaller path on the right that climbs back up towards the Route des Cèdres. Join this road and climb for about 50 metres to reach the start of the path that descends to the left towards Lauris, near the Tour Philippe.

(3) Take this path, walk alongside the Tour Philippe and continue along the main path marked in yellow towards Lauris via the Combe du Sautadou. This beautiful, well-marked path is surrounded by cliffs and magnificent rock formations. It descends for a long time in wide, easy bends to the bottom of the valley.

(4) Take theGR® on the right, which climbs back up towards the cedar forest. TheGR® is very pleasant. It climbs quite steeply but without difficulty, offering magnificent views of the southern Luberon. You will arrive at the Combe de Recaute crossroads.

(5) Keep right on theGR® trail, which follows a wide track for a short while, bordered on the right by magnificent rock formations and on the left by the hills of the southern Luberon. Pass a cistern in the Vallon du Gros Ubac.

(6) Continue on the GR®. Climb gently among the trees. Cross a track that descends to the left into the Vallon de Vallauris. Ignore it and continue climbing to the right on the GR®. You will reach another DFCI track junction with a cistern.

(7) Leave theGR® here, which branches off to the left, and take thePR® marked in yellow. Begin a fairly steep climb among the rocks and very sparse vegetation. You will come out at the Portalas crossroads.

(8) Turn right and descend towards the cedar forest. At the bottom of the valley, go straight up to reach the start of the botanical trail, which provides information on the different species in the forest. Join the developed section of the botanical trail.

(9) Continue by turning right to join the Route des Cèdres. Turn right and you will quickly return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 700 m - Cèdres Forest car park
  2. 1 : km 0.96 - alt. 655 m - Peyrafio signpost
  3. 2 : km 1.88 - alt. 509 m - Path on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.92 - alt. 586 m - Fork in the road, Tour Philippe
  5. 4 : km 6.42 - alt. 354 m - Sautadou, junction with the GR
  6. 5 : km 7.13 - alt. 369 m - Combe de Recaute
  7. 6 : km 8.01 - alt. 437 m - Cistern
  8. 7 : km 9.22 - alt. 569 m - GR/PR crossroads
  9. 8 : km 9.94 - alt. 673 m - Portalas
  10. 9 : km 11.04 - alt. 707 m - Botanical trail
  11. S/E : km 11.41 - alt. 700 m - Cèdres Forest car park

Notes

You go from wild, deserted valleys to a very touristy environment in the Cedar Forest.

Worth a visit

The Cedar Forest: here you can find information about the origin of the Cedar Forest and its evolution. This part is even accessible to people with disabilities and is very popular with tourists.
The village of Bonnieux.

 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

4.5 / 5
Based on 29 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
User 5996474

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

When we left the cedar forest at around 9am, we were alone, but by 4pm the car park was packed. However, everyone stayed where they were, as we didn't meet anyone else during the route

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Véronique10
Véronique10
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, very well marked and with a very accurate GPS route (or PDF). Very flowery at this time of year and not too hot at all. However, the hike is monotonous as many of the paths are overgrown and there are no views. The few views from higher ground are very beautiful, but too few and far between. And a good part of the hike is on very stony paths, which I don't find pleasant and means you have to look at the ground all the time. Very pretty villages in the surrounding area.

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passion rando
passion rando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very good explanation, well marked, except that I still got lost.
At the ridge at (4), instead of following the GR to the left, I took the path to the right, which made me climb very hard up the rocky peak.
At the summit, I followed a forest path between the cedars for quite a while before finally reaching the cedar forest.
The nature was magnificent and fragrant, with rosemary, thyme and violets everywhere.

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zechanoir
zechanoir

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We were disturbed by hunters who were organising a hunt in the Combe du Sautadou area. It's never pleasant to find yourself in the middle of that! Be careful at marker 5 to descend to the road. The map was too small, we didn't see it and took the wrong path, which shortened our hike considerably (we climbed back up the ridges instead of going around them).

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eric L
eric L

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk without any major difficulties but with beautiful views. Very pretty cedar forest.

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godillot1
godillot1

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with views on both sides of the Luberon. It is possible to take a different route via the Combe de la Sanguinette, which we did not try. The end of the trail would probably be more shaded. We'll save that for next time.

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Ange Heureux
Ange Heureux

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Our only slight regret is that the Cedar Forest Trail is not included in this hike. We had planned to do it, but when we got to the cedar forest, we didn't have the energy to walk another 1.5 km! Especially since we had forgotten our water bottles at our accommodation and with only 1 litre of water between us, it was touch and go (luckily the wind kept us cool)
Otherwise, there were superb views on both sides. But there were also some tough descents and climbs, fortunately the hike seemed to be going in the right direction.
Thank you, a beautiful hike for the views (and our calves! 😉)

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lara saussey
lara saussey

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

Nice hike, brisk walk in January at 0 degrees, completed in 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Beautiful view of the villages below

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phildaix
phildaix

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with superb woodland and breathtaking landscapes.
Even if the alternating ascents and descents are always a bit tedious.
There were quite a few people on the botanical trail, though.

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CalleChamaco
CalleChamaco

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike that took 4.5 hours.
It was moderately difficult, but yesterday's heat, despite starting at 9 a.m., made the section between points 5 and 8, which is in full sun, quite challenging.
A short detour to the top of Portalas is a must: what a 360-degree view! 😍

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saint victor
saint victor

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, very pleasant, beautiful views. The Philippe tower is surprising in this location. Thank you for this route

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Annie VIAL-UZEL
Annie VIAL-UZEL

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Beautiful views halfway between points 3 and 4 and a superb panorama at the top of the Portalas Pass. Between the two, we found the route monotonous.
We also regret not having spent more time enjoying the magnificent cedar forest!
The route is not particularly difficult, but descending into three different valleys and climbing back up three times may seem tedious to some.
The route description is very reliable except at point 6, where you need to pay attention. When you come out of the trees, you will come across a track that branches off to the left, which you should ignore (this is not mentioned, which led us astray). Continuing on, you will come to a second junction with a track that descends to the left, which you should also ignore. Continue on the GR, which turns right at a right angle and climbs up to cistern 37, where you take the PR (7)

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GB4453
GB4453

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, but quite difficult (we did it in 35°C heat).
Avoid in high temperatures, and it's good to know that many sections are difficult.
There are some tricky changes of direction, so it's essential to take an IGN map with you as well as the description
NB: there is little of the route in the cedar forest at the end

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jb ristorcelli
jb ristorcelli

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike with stunning views.
We started from the car park near the orientation table, point 3.
Be careful between points 4 and 5, where the scree is difficult. Descend with caution.
Thank you

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Tartine
Tartine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Just a small issue: please make sure you mention that the departure point is far from the village of Bonnieux and that you need to stop at a large car park, not the small car park a little further on from the Philippe tower.

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