La Parloire and La Barre Coupée via Les Maurins

La Parloire and La Barre Coupée – everything has been said about these two distinctive features of the Garlaban massif. Every time we pass through, we appreciate this superb landscape. There are several possible starting points for exploring this site.
I suggest a route starting from Les Maurins, entirely on footpaths. It’s a hike that can easily be done in half a day. It could also serve as a basis for planning a longer hike in the future.

Details

6500010
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.23 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 306 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 297 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 518 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 231 m

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at the end of Chemin du Vallon de l'Oule.

(S/E) Take the path on your right (opposite the direction you came from) and follow it to the first junction.

(1) Turn right, ignoring the track leading off to your left. Continue to the first hairpin bend.

(2) Take the fairly visible path that heads straight ahead and slightly to the left. You will see a chain that you will need to step over or go under. Continue along this path as it winds through the valley.

(3) At the junction of the paths, turn left: the one leading off to the right is the return route. Continue up the steep climb until you reach a track where you can take a short break if you wish.

(4) Do not follow the track but take the path branching off to your right and head south-east, ignoring the path branching off to the left and the one branching off to the right. The aim is to pass above La Parloire and La Barre Coupée.

(5) At the junction, carry on straight ahead, ignoring the path branching off to your left. Follow the path to pass above La Parloire (ignore the path branching off to your left). Continue to the next junction.

(6) Continue straight ahead, ignoring the paths branching off to your left, and head for the Col de l'Amandier.

(7) At the pass, the path you need to take branches off to your right and is a little difficult to spot at first glance. Follow this path, which descends steeply towards the valley, to reach the junction of the circular path.

(3) Turn left onto the path you took on the way out to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 231 m - Les Maurins car park
  2. 1 : km 0.38 - alt. 241 m - Track on the right
  3. 2 : km 0.69 - alt. 265 m - Start of the trail at the hairpin bend
  4. 3 : km 1.74 - alt. 314 m - Crossroads of the circular loop
  5. 4 : km 2.54 - alt. 416 m - Path on the right towards Parloire (Grands Chênes)
  6. 5 : km 3.25 - alt. 518 m - Junction
  7. 6 : km 4.66 - alt. 471 m - Crossroads
  8. 7 : km 4.82 - alt. 439 m - Col de l'Amandier
  9. S/E : km 7.23 - alt. 231 m - Les Maurins car park

Notes

To reach the start of the hike, the road through Les Maurins and the Vallon de l'Oule is sometimes narrow, but it’s no problem. The people you meet are used to it and, in the end, everything goes smoothly.

Worth a visit

Les Maurins and the Vallon de l'Oule are distinctive features of the town of Allauch.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
juliemolto
juliemolto

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I loved being on my own (with my dog) on this walk, it was very pleasant and not particularly difficult. The first part was fairly shady in the forest (from the start to point 3), then there were some very pretty views surrounded by greenery (3 to 7), and some pretty impressive cliffs too! It's a very popular trail, with two people at the start and only two at the end!

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horizon258
horizon258

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk around the cliffs above Allauch; a real sense of scale and very green for the region, with beautiful cliffs. The GPX file works very well. Watch out for hunters, who are often in the area. On a Sunday afternoon in November, there were very few people on the route.

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Anne13
Anne13

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk on 28 March 2023, starting from the car park at the very beginning of the hamlet of Les Maurins – an extra 50 minutes there and back. A magnificent route with superb views of the Massif de l’Etoile as a whole, Sainte-Victoire, Marseille, and the stunning cliffs of La Barre Coupée and La Parloire. As a bonus, there’s an iris garden above La Parloire – absolutely beautiful.
The route description was very easy to follow, apart from a bit of confusion at point no. 5: here, you actually need to take the path on the far right, following the sign on the ground for ‘Col de l’Amandier La Fève’ (and not straight ahead as indicated, as there is another path going straight ahead as well as the one to the left, but this is not the correct one according to the route).
Note that at point 6, before heading down to the right towards the Col de l'Amandier, we made a short 20-minute round trip on the path furthest to the left to cross the Pas du Figuier and venture a little further onto the plateau until we had a superb view of Taoumé, Escaouprès, Tête Rouge, Marseille and the Vélodrome, with Marseilleveyre behind – absolutely stunning!
Thank you so much for suggesting this hike; we had a brilliant day!

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CathyMCC22
CathyMCC22

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, easy walk that offers a chance to discover another side of the Garlaban massif.

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