Grottes du Védi or Grotte des Oiseaux, as well as an unlisted cave

Park in the large dirt car park on Chemin de la Terre Noire.

(S/E) Facing the car park, at the far left, take the very wide path on the right. Follow it straight on until you reach the end. Look for the path that climbs through the undergrowth and take it to join a parallel path. Turn left when you come to some pallets, metal chairs... in short, a small open-air rubbish tip. At the junction with a hunters’ shelter, turn right downhill, walk past an abandoned house and go round it on the right to avoid trespassing on private property. The path turns left at the end of the descent at almost a right angle and becomes a very narrow track, pushing aside the foliage slightly.

(1) At the junction, take the path leading down to the left. The route might suggest going straight on, but in fact you must turn sharply left. At the next junction, continue straight on, then keep to the right and continue straight on along this fairly steep, very wide and very pretty path. You’ll reach a very large junction with five directions.

(2) Take the second path on the right, almost straight ahead. Climb up until you reach the end of the bend on the left. Just before the right-hand bend, turn onto the dirt track that climbs up to the left. The route does not appear on the map. Continue off-track, as straight as possible, to reach the cross-country path leading to the Grotte aux Oiseaux.

(3) Take this on the right and head downhill to reach a Sainte-Baume TSB trail. You’ll notice a small clearing. Keep your distance and look down to see the Grotte de Védi or Grotte des Oiseaux below. Go back a tiny bit and take the slightly steep path, marked in orange, which leads to the cave in a short while.

(4) Facing the cave, on your left, take the path that descends and cross a ford with very little water. The path widens and heads off to the right between two streams. Follow the stream and cross it several times, then climb up, moving slightly away from the stream. It is a very narrow path through the undergrowth. Follow the Source du Pied du Bœuf, which you will cross and recross several times. Then follow the path which climbs quite steeply, turning left, before descending to the right, following the rocky section off-track. You will reach a cave not marked on the map; progress is slow, as it is more savannah than a path.

(5) You’ll notice short sections of well-marked paths, then the savannah again: it’ll be like this for a little while. Carry on straight ahead until you reach a much wider path, about 100 m further on.

(6) Turn left, then cross another path in the middle of a bend. Continue to the right, downhill. This is a very wide path. As you emerge from the undergrowth, you’ll finally see the sky and the marked firebreak path, the Védi S98. You’ll reach a very large crossroads, with a water tank on the left.

(7) Take the second track on the right, next to the water tank. This track climbs and descends quite quickly. Then turn right when the main path turns left. Continue almost straight on along the dirt track to reach the tarmac road.

(8) Follow it down to the left. A sign on the road warns of black ice, then a second one indicates a sheep crossing; approach a large bend that curves to the right. Look out for a path on the left.

(9) Leave the road and join a track, following it to the right until you reach the forest gate. In front of it, head left and look out for a path further down, right at the far left. Take, directly opposite, a very narrow single track that isn’t very well marked. You’ll soon see a green marker on a white background on a tree, then a yellow one, and you’ll quickly reach a dry stream bed. Follow it to the right. At a steep descent, take the path furthest to the right – the easiest route down into this small ravine.

(10) Descend over a steep rock to see the waterfall. Take a few photos, then retrace your steps to turn right onto the narrow path which climbs and descends quite steeply through the undergrowth. Running along the mountainside, this path, which slopes slightly, passes a cairn and joins a very wide track.

(11) Continue downhill to the right and reach the sign for “Piste l’Ouest CV2 et DFCI S 80”. At the large junction, turn left towards “La Verrerie le S 51”, then right onto Piste de l’Eau CV2, a path marked in sky blue.

(12) Immediately after the ford, continue to the right and follow the gently descending path that runs along the valley floor.

(13) At the Y-junction, take the narrow path climbing up to the left. Go round the hillock and join the next valley floor, arriving at a fork.

(14) Follow the small path on the left which climbs steeply and leads to a small concrete pylon. Continue along the ascending path, ignoring a fork on the right and heading straight on, slightly to the left, still climbing and following yellow markings on a white background. As you continue, these markings sometimes alternate with green markings on a white background. Head straight on, but the path is not always visible, as the vegetation has taken over for quite some time now. Then pass a very large cairn and a yellow marker attached to a nearby tree. Continue climbing and arrive at a lovely little clearing after passing a stone pillar. Turn right uphill and reach a junction. Continue straight on to reach the SZE 12 cistern.

(15) Continue along the line of the cistern, almost straight ahead, and ignore the path to the left. Look out for the sky-blue markers again. On the DFCI track, look for a sign marked ‘la Verrerie S51’; at the large crossroads with a big tree, head towards DFCI S81 on the left, still following the sky-blue markings, to reach the cistern, SZE 11.

(16) Continue straight on towards Les Enfers S50. Go downhill and reach a fork at the end of this track.

(17) Continue to the right to reach the junction, which you have already passed, with a water tank.

(7) From there, take the path on the right that you took on the way there, up to the junction for the unmarked cave.

(6) Stay on the main path to avoid the off-trail section leading to the unnamed cave. Continue straight ahead and, once you rejoin the path you took on the way there, head straight on to reach the Grotte du Vêdi.

(4) Continue along the path you took on the way there until the next junction.

(3) Turn right for a short shortcut and rejoin the original route.

(2) Return to the car park by turning right (S/E).

Suggested by: A.M.I.S Rando Aubagne