Gorges de la Petite Sainte-Baume

On the D8N towards Cuges-les-Pins, park on the right-hand side of the road in a space that can accommodate around ten vehicles.

(S/E) Facing the road, turn left onto a path with a barrier at the entrance. At the next fork, go up to the left, passing a media library further on.

(1) Take the path on the left that goes uphill (GC103), follow a series of hairpin bends and arrive on a plateau at a sea-green skip.

(2) Just behind it, look for a very pretty single track on the left, which is not very visible from a distance, climbing south-west into a pretty undergrowth. You will arrive at a fork with one path going up and another going down. Take the one that climbs slightly to the left and keep to it until the next crossroads.

(3) Continue on the left and join a wider cross path. Follow it to the right and arrive at a large rock on the right: viewpoint over the Dents de Roque Fourcade and the Pic de Bertagne.

(4) Stay on the very wide path, which makes a hairpin bend to the left and leads to a three-way junction: underground cistern no. 19 on the left.

(5) Take the very wide, clear path that descends to the left, continuing on from the one you have been following. The path climbs steeply for a few minutes before levelling out: buried gas pipe.

(6) In the middle of the bend, take the path that climbs up to the left, south-east. Continue straight ahead, keeping to this path and ignoring the other adjacent paths, until you reach a crossroads.

(7) Turn right and follow the path, which curves in an S shape and leads to a three-way junction.

(8) Turn right and you will come out onto Route de Cuges (D1).

(9) Continue left and drive very carefully along the road (90° left turn with no visibility).

(10) Pass in front of the Notre-Dame des Pieds Noirs Chapel, leave the Château de Julhans on your left and continue to the first crossroads.

(11) Leave the main road on the left and go through a barrier.

(12) Ignore the other access to the château on the left and continue to a T-junction.

(13) Take the track on the left and continue along the path until you reach a fork you passed earlier.

(8) Continue straight ahead in the opposite direction to the outward journey until you reach a fork, which you also passed on the outward journey.

(7) Turn right and follow the winding path until you reach the junction with another path of the same width.

(14) Turn right and return to the junction with the skip you passed at the start.

(2) Keep to the right and follow the outward route in the opposite direction to reach the D8N and the car park (S/E).