Garlaban and the peak of Taoumé

Circuit following in Marcel Pagnol's footsteps, passing by the Baume du Plantier (Manon’s Cave) then reaching the legendary Garlaban. The return journey passes by the peak of Taoumé and Grosibou Cave and ending with the Vallon de Passe-Temps.

Technical sheet

118956
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.82 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 671 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 669 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 709 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 259 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start at the car park near the Raimu Well located at the end of Chemin de Ruissatel in the town of Aubagne.

(S) With your back to the car park, turn left to reach the intersection of Chemin de la Font de Mai and Chemin de Ruissatel.

‘’Blue markings’’
Turn left on Chemin de la Font de Mai in the direction of "Col Aubignane". When the paved road ends head past the barrier and turn left on the track. A few metres on pass by a path off to the left and continue on the track. 600 m further up, when the track makes a left turn, ignore the path that continues straight and reach a marker post. Pass a blue marker on the left and go straight to the pass.

‘’Yellow markings’’
(1) At the Col d’Aubignane, pass by paths on the right and left and continue opposite in the direction of "Garlaban par le Vallon des Piches".

(2) 200 m further on, turn right on the path towards the “Grotte du Plantier ou de Manon." The layout of the markings on the map is wrong on this stretch. The trail climbs up into the scrubland, meets another trail coming from the left and continues climbing towards a crossroads. Make a round trip to the right following the Blue markings that lead to Manon’s cave (3) 100 m further up.

Come back to the path, continue right heading up in the direction of "Garlaban par le Vallon des Piches". Pass through Col Sallis and continue to the next crossroads. Pass by the path on the left that goes to the end of the Vallon des Piches and turn right to head through Pas Garrigue. With the Garlaban in sight, follow the trail on the plateau, which joins a track.

(4) At the crossroads, pass the track that turns off to the right and continue opposite the esplanade to the chapel that can be seen ahead.

‘’Red markings’’
Continue opposite to find a trail that climbs to the top of Garlaban. Endeavour to follow the Red markings because many hikers passing on alternative paths have created many trails. In any event, they all lead to the top. Once at the Croix du Garlaban (5) and its orientation table, enjoy the 360 ° views.
Take the route in reverse to the chapel and further on the marker post along the side of the track.

‘’Yellow markings’’
(4) Continue across the forest track for about 1 km. 500 m further up, leave the track and take the left path that goes down into a small valley and then back across the plateau. The trail widens and reaches a crossroads.

(6) Turn left on the flat road that offers views of Marseille on the horizon. Arrive at a marker at a meadow and the Puits du Mûrier, ignore the Blue markings that head right and continue left to “Le Taoumé".
80 m further on, pass the path straight ahead and take the path up to the right (note that the markings are missing at the intersection). Pass by the next path down the left, as well as Baume Sourne and continue. Immediately prior to a marker on a track, pass the path on the left.

(7) Turn left on the track in the direction of “Le Taoumé" then leave it to go right to the other side. Continue left and immediately choose the left path up to the summit. Pass some small rock steps to reach the Taoumé Peak (8).

Continue the path on the ridges and down to the right to the Grosibou Cave (9). At the marker, turn left towards "La treille par le balcon des Cassaïres" and along a rocky ridge at the bottom. Arrive at a crossroads at a small platform and go left towards the "Garlaban par la Baume Sourne". Continue on this road for about 300m and find a cairn on the right which marks the point to leave the path.

‘’No markings''
(10) Turn right on a small inconspicuous trail, marked by cairns, running through the middle of the scrubland. A landmark is visible, a small area of soil in the middle of vegetation. Head to this.
Head through this section without vegetation (the landmark mentioned above) and reach a crossroads with several large stones. Go straight on the beautiful path for about 150 m and locate a cairn on the left.

(11) Leave the road and take the inconspicuous path that heads down to the left. It leads opposite to cross a small dry stream and becomes much more clearly visible. The trail will join another trail coming from the left and go downhill with old yellow markings that appear here and there.

When the trail gets wider it reaches a small platform. Continue to the left and reach the Vallon de Passe-temps at a T-junction. Turn right towards a large pine and a few metres further on turn left.

‘’Yellow markings’’
(12) Take a left to go up the valley on slabs and then on a trail. In the climb, ignore large spray-painted arrows and continue. Ignore a path going left around the bend (not marked on the map) and cut across a path a little further on. Continue on the trail, pass a path starting out to the left and find the path taken on the outbound leg.

(2) Continue on the trail and take same path as on the outbound leg passing the Col de l'Aubignane (1) then back down following the Blue markings to the car park.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 277 m - Car park at the end of Chemin de Ruissatel
  2. 1 : km 1.63 - alt. 332 m - Col d'Aubignane
  3. 2 : km 1.85 - alt. 324 m - Right towards La Grotte du Plantier or de Manon
  4. 3 : km 2.87 - alt. 487 m - Grotte du Plantier ou Grotte de Manon
  5. 4 : km 4.68 - alt. 628 m - Right towards Garlaban - Col de Garlaban (628m)
  6. 5 : km 5.06 - alt. 709 m - Garlaban
  7. 6 : km 6.43 - alt. 681 m - Left on the path
  8. 7 : km 7.58 - alt. 623 m - Left towards the Taoumé - Col de la Baume Sourne (623m)
  9. 8 : km 8.34 - alt. 665 m - Pic du Taoumé
  10. 9 : km 8.44 - alt. 637 m - Grotte du Grosibou
  11. 10 : km 9.12 - alt. 534 m - Leave the path and turn right
  12. 11 : km 9.76 - alt. 390 m - Leave the path and turn left
  13. 12 : km 10.5 - alt. 259 m - Go left on the flagstones
  14. S/E : km 12.82 - alt. 277 m - Car park at the end of Chemin de Ruissatel

Practical information

Some points to take shelter in the legendary caves.
No drinking water refill point.
Warning: The waypoint markers between points (10) and (12) and are limited to a few explanatory panels and cairns. It is immersed in the heart of the scrubland, at the time of Marcel and his friend Lili, when they went to look for traps set to catch partridges...

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 97 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
User 26146877

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

We did this hike as a family, with my wife and our two children aged 8 and 16.
Up to the cross, the route is fairly accessible, but beyond that, it gets seriously complicated.

The paths are barely visible, sometimes non-existent, which caused us to get lost five or six times along the way. The result: eight hours of walking and 23 kilometres on the clock!
For information, the route includes very few forest tracks; they are mainly rough trails, sometimes difficult to follow.

This is definitely not an "average" hike: I would classify it as difficult and not to be underestimated.
Remember to bring at least 2 to 3 litres of water per person, or you'll end up completely dehydrated, like we did.

Otherwise, the scenery is truly magnificent.

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User 19796157

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

.................

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mc92
mc92

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very interesting walk. You need to keep your eyes peeled as the signposts are not always clearly visible. Visorando is very useful.

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Séraphin2
Séraphin2

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 31, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

We've done this hike several times before, but unfortunately the weight of age made itself felt, so we didn't continue to Taoumé but took the same route back.
There were a lot of people there on this first of January, but it wasn't too crowded.
The description was accurate and very useful.

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JanNo
JanNo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

It's a really nice walk, 16km long and not 13 as advertised. The last few kilometres are much harder, with downhill sections, so poles are a definite plus.
Finally, the Ubers won't come looking for you so far away. Fortunately, a lovely couple we met on the trail brought us back to civilisation, otherwise we'd have been stuck.

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Jherr
Jherr

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

The route after marker 10 (mainly downhill) is very difficult - a small path with lots of uninteresting stones.

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petermasten
petermasten

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Hello
I did this walk starting from La Treille. The route is virtually identical, although the first 4 kilometres are more strenuous, which is a pity that many of the signs have been removed, so you have to be careful where the paths cross. For lovers of Pagnol, this is a magnificent walk.

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Etoile.Angy
Etoile.Angy

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : May 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very pretty route, with a magnificent view over Marseille .... Very rich and intoxicating flora with its scents and perfumes....
One small downside: you need to follow the trail on the app from the Grosibou cave (no signposts, narrow, unfrequented paths).
But all in all.... Very nice walk

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HELFRE
HELFRE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Recommended

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wave13
wave13

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Great hike.
After the Pic de Taoumé, you have to follow the map on the app carefully as the signposts (cairns, etc.) are absent or not very visible. We had to turn back twice. But it was a very nice route. Thank you

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Roduro
Roduro

It's not easy to give precise details, as the difficulty in finding the route occurred at a junction after about 3/4 kilometres.

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Thank you for your message.
Could you tell us what went wrong so that the author can do something about it?
The previous reviews have been very positive.
Thank you in advance for your reply.

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Roduro
Roduro

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

Impossible to follow the entire route, insufficient description to find your way around properly. We had to turn back.

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Roland1fois
Roland1fois

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

done on 7 and 12/11/2023. Sunday was busy, especially as there was a trail competition with many participants who had to be let through, hence the many short stops. A very pleasant walk.

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Allama70
Allama70

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Very nice walk with some lovely points of interest

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