La Roche Amère

Date of your route : Feb 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

From the chapel, I recommend the round trip to the summit of Roche Amère, which is only suggested by Visorando.
I suggest correcting the text in point 6: "Turn right to climb a tarmac road, ignoring the sign saying 'private property - no trespassing'; at the fork, take the unpaved right-hand branch; quite a steep climb up to the antenna; at the end of the ridge track, continue straight ahead on a narrow path, as the vegetation on either side has not been cut back; at the bottom of the slope, just after the hydroelectric power station located a few metres to the left, follow the old canal to the right for a long distance, and when you reach the houses with lots of old vehicles, go down to join the road".
Who knows the origin of the expression "Roche Amère" (Bitter Rock)?

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Date of your route : Dec 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

As on my previous hike in the 04 department, there was a clear lack of signposting at intersections and paint markings to confirm the correct route... other departments are less economical. That said, it was a very nice walk, and I highly recommend it!

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Date of your route : Dec 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very interesting: The passage over the "ridge" (hill) offers views of several distant valleys and mountains, with signposting corresponding to the description.
Best done in winter or early spring.

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Date of your route : Aug 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pretty loop trail offering beautiful views from the summit. I recommend continuing on to the ruins of the fortified castle.
Along the way, there is a beautiful botanical trail in a sensitive natural area (with well-designed information panels).
The descent is via a poorly maintained (holly) but clearly visible path.
At the end of this descent, when you reach the canal, turn right onto the path to reach the quiet road that takes you back to the starting point.

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Date of your route : May 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We extended the route by taking the Costebelle trail on the way there. (16 km)

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

A beautiful, easy hike, pleasant at this time of year.
The botanical trail leading to the chapel is very nice, with the added bonus of signs identifying the different plant names and families.
The view from the castle ruins is well worth it!
A few comments:
At point 6, take the paved road on the right marked "Sentier St-Jean", then do not follow the Visorando trail, which goes straight ahead through a private road, but go right through a gate.
Further on, the path narrows to become a narrow trail completely overgrown with holly on both sides, which you have to walk through, not very pleasant! After that, the route is unclear regarding the descent to point 7, especially at the junction with the canal, so I preferred to follow the existing path (going to the right) until I was able to turn left and find the GPS track again.
Overall, I recommend this route, which took 2 hours to complete

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

A very pleasant walk with magnificent views.
Picnic in the castle ruins.
The wooden bridge at the start is very pretty.
I used GPS tracking as usual, so no problems

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Date of your route : May 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike. The view from Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Roche is remarkable. Thank you.

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Date of your route : Jun 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A varied route with beautiful views from the summit. Interesting spots include the chapel (unfortunately closed) and the ruins at the summit. However, the vegetation sometimes makes the intersections difficult to see. It is easy to find your way, though: just go back up or down!

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Date of your route : May 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

There are really two parts to this hike.
The first part involves climbing up to the chapel and castle, which is quite steep. The view from the top is lovely, but you have to go all the way to the castle.
The second part is less "pretty". However, you do get a beautiful view of the valley when you're up on the heights of Villeneuve.
The descent is very steep, so you really need good shoes.

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Date of your route : Feb 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

personally, I recommend leaving the road at the hill of St Jean. There is a track that leads to a pylon, a mobile phone mast, then continue along the track on the ridge until you reach a crossroads with signs and take the path on the right, which is a superb trail that will take you back to the road a few metres from the bridge over the Largue

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Date of your route : Jan 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We walked the section from the museum to the castle, which is 5.4 km, with our dogs on 22/01/22.
It's a bit of a climb, but the view is well worth the effort and absolutely magnificent.
Make sure you wear good shoes, especially on the section between the chapel and the castle.

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Date of your route : Nov 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike in beautiful autumn scenery. A lovely surprise was discovering the little chapel and the stunning view from the top of the Amère rock, which is impressive from the car park at the Oliviers eco-museum and easy to reach.
There is a beautiful wooden bridge at the start of the hike and a surprising waterfall in an artificial canal at the end of the trail.
I highly recommend this hike.

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

No signs, we're lost, so we turned around and went back

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Date of your route : Aug 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

well-marked hike, nothing to complain about. Go to the castle, 5-10 minutes from the chapel, beautiful view

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