The Cauvin Tower Plan des vaches and the Dents de Roque Forcade

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A beautiful walk to the Dents de Roque Forcade in the Massif de la Sainte-Baume, passing by the Tour de Cauvin, starting from Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.94 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 974 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 945 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 3,071 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,162 ft
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Photos

The Cauvin Tower
View of the Cauvin tower to the east
Ruins of Jas de la Toulonnette
Tour de Cauvin

Description of the walk

Start from the Brasque car park located south-west of Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume.

(S/E) Head towards the ruins of a jas (sheepfold) and then towards the D80, which you follow for a few metres until you reach the junction with the Chemin du Vallon du Cros.

(1) We take it on the left to climb up the Vallon du Cros valley to the spring of the same name on the left of the path.

(2) Opposite the spring, we find the start of a path that climbs beneath the cliffs of the northern branch of the Plan des Vaches. The terraced path is very pleasant and takes us to the Tour de Cauvin. Take the opportunity here to enjoy beautiful views on both sides towards Sainte-Baume and the Garlaban Massif.

(3) We head back in the opposite direction, keeping to the right and taking a climbing path that will take us to the Plan des Vaches. Be careful on this route: the path is sometimes difficult to find.
We reach the Plan des Vaches, where several paths intersect.

(4) We continue to the right, heading due west. We quickly reach a rather impressive chasm (5)

(5) We continue westwards towards the end of the Plan des Vaches to reach the foot of the Dents de Roque Forcade. Here we can enjoy beautiful panoramic views of the peaks and the Marseille region.

(6) We head east again, retracing our steps to reach the Plan des Vaches crossroads and then the Col du Cros.

(4) Take the path on the right. You will reach the Col de Bertagne.

(7) We continue straight ahead towards the small monument dedicated to hikers. We descend to the left, onto the road that leads to the Pic de Bertagne.

(8) Follow this road downhill for about 300 metres.

(9) We descend to the left onto a path that will take us back to the car park, passing in front of the Source des Lavandiers (which I have never found myself) and rejoining theGRP® Marseille Provence.

(E) Continue along the path until you reach the Brasque car park

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,260 ft - La Brasque car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.61 - alt. 2,162 ft - Start of the trail towards the Cros valley
  3. 2 : mi 1.55 - alt. 2,533 ft - Source du Cros
  4. 3 : mi 2.2 - alt. 2,612 ft - Tour de Cauvin
  5. 4 : mi 2.89 - alt. 2,841 ft - Map of Les Vaches - Col de Cros (873m)
  6. 5 : mi 2.97 - alt. 2,835 ft - Cave
  7. 6 : mi 3.63 - alt. 3,051 ft - View of the Dents
  8. 7 : mi 4.59 - alt. 2,835 ft - Col de Bertagne
  9. 8 : mi 4.82 - alt. 2,864 ft - Monument to hikers
  10. 9 : mi 5.01 - alt. 2,736 ft - Fork to the left
  11. S/E : mi 5.94 - alt. 2,264 ft - La Brasque car park

Notes

This hike was created entirely by Pierre, from the very interesting website "Les randos du grand".

This hike uses a section of the GRP°°®°°2013 for a few metres.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 40 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
User 5231682

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It’s absolutely stunning with all the spring blossoms. Before reaching the hikers’ memorial on the plateau, there’s a view of the Côte Bleue on one side, the snow-capped Alps on the other, and Sainte Victoire and the Luberon directly opposite. Simply magnificent!!! Make sure you follow your GPS carefully as the signposting isn’t great.

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HB
HB

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 23, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It really is a lovely walk, with some truly splendid views. I did it the day before yesterday in perfect conditions (sunshine and mild warmth). I can confirm that it’s tricky to find your way between sections 3 and 4. You really need to be very careful right from the start in section 3, keeping a close eye on the GPS at all times. We didn’t do that, which meant we had to make a bit of a detour to get back on the right track. I do, however, have my doubts about the distance; even though we added a few hundred metres due to mistakes (between sections 3 and 4, but also between 7 and 8), we covered well over the advertised 9.56 km, closer to 13 km. The cliff-side path before the Cauvin Tower isn’t actually that daunting.

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Yvainb
Yvainb

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely long walk: 11km with 600m of elevation gain in 4 hours. The start is a bit dull, but as soon as the path climbs towards the Cauvin tower, the views open up. The highlight is the view from the plateau towards La Dent. At the end of the day, there’s a beautiful glow over Marseille and the sea. Magnificent views all the way to the pass before the descent, which is pleasant. A lovely walk, although you mustn’t get lost at the start on the section leading to the road before quickly leaving it behind. (With GPS, as usual)

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V-P
V-P

The path that runs along the cliff face before reaching the Cauvin Tower is very narrow and does require sure-footedness
Beautiful views along the route

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jptvenelles
jptvenelles

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and interesting hike with stunning views.
Guidance by map and GPS. Between points 3 and 4, halfway along the route, the GPS track deviates slightly from the path and you find yourself in very dense vegetation. Stick to the path.
Note the presence of hunters when you reach the end of the plateau at point 6. It is not the presence of hunters that is disturbing in this place and at this time of year, but their weapons, the small group and the game they have shot, which suggests a "hunt". There are no signs saying "HUNTING IN PROGRESS". You discover them yourself. So be careful.
jptvenelles

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christiane.jura
christiane.jura

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

lovely route!

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CHARMASSON
CHARMASSON

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike with stunning views
Easy hike

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gisyl
gisyl

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with no difficulty and beautiful views of the cow pastures.

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jc.duvanel
jc.duvanel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike. We had already done it 5-6 years ago, but we enjoyed it again.
Difficult in the morning and downhill in the afternoon. Ideal picnic spot with a view of Marseille. Too bad the horizon was blocked by clouds. If possible, hike to the "viewpoint" on a clear day.
The start is a bit complicated to reach the main road, but then it's easy going as we are between two steep cliffs. We have no choice. As for the chasm, when we found it, we had climbed down it on our first visit. You just have to let yourself slide down after leaving your bags at the top. The climb back up is easier. But we chickened out this time. We've become more cautious with age!

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natach
natach

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful circular in Sainte-Baume with magnificent views.
One small drawback: the route is marked but not signposted for the most part, except on arrival at the Col de Bertagne and on the descent, so a certain amount of caution is required.

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17decembre
17decembre

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent views but very difficult to follow the path on the map. GPS essential.

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dougere
dougere

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike using the GPS on the app, so we had no trouble finding our way. The walk is very beautiful and points 3 and 6 offer magnificent views. The descent from point 9 was very wet, so I wonder if we should have used the red and yellow GR trail that ran parallel to it.

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jpb2
jpb2

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful view. Very complicated route to follow on the map.

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maxcaviso
maxcaviso

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Without GPS, this hike would have been a nightmare.
However, it's well worth doing because the scenery is magnificent, with flowers galore and pleasant trails.

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APM#83
APM#83
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike today, with stunning scenery and no technical difficulties. However, the directions are brief and not very detailed, so a GPS is essential. To return from point 6, follow the recent red and yellow GR markings, which will take you back to the starting point.

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