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If you are coming from Toulon towards La Valette on the D46 road, at the Dardennes district, turn left onto the D846 road towards Le Revest and the dam. At the crossroads where the Pharmacie du Béal is located, turn immediately right at a small square with a fountain, onto the street that runs alongside the Toulon road you have just left. Continue to the end of this street, called Chemin de la Ripelle, and park in the dirt car park overlooked by Chemin de la Danillonne.
(S/E) From the car park, take Chemin de la Danillonne just above, which runs alongside and overlooks Chemin de la Ripelle, the road you arrived on. Continue to the cul-de-sac.
(1) Turn right and go up a small footpath that starts with a few steps. This alley continues straight ahead between the houses until it reaches a street in the Grenette housing estate.
You will come to a crossroads with a few private parking spaces, next to two small municipal buildings flanked by a notice board displaying local information. At the stop sign, turn right and walk up the street called "Chemin de la Tourravelle" for about 500 metres until you reach a green metal gate, beyond which a sign from the Var Departmental Council indicates the Tourravelle estate as a sensitive natural area.
(2) Just before this barrier, turn left onto the path that climbs uphill, following the signs for "Les Restanques 1". This path soon crosses a private track; continue straight ahead, passing in front of some superb, beautifully restored restanques (retaining walls for terraced land). Further up, you will come to a crossroads.
(3) A sign (Les Restanques 1) points left towards "Les Camps Sud". Ignore the path on the left (which you will take on the way back) and continue straight ahead to the next junction where a sign (Les Restanques 2) points to "Le Chêne Chevelu" opposite and "La Tourravelle" on the right. Head towards La Tourravelle and, after about 350 metres, cross a road and turn left to reach a sign pointing to "Le Col des Bouisses" on the right.
(4) Follow this path which climbs alongside limestone rocks. Follow the blue markings, which are clearly indicated. On a terraced field along the way, you can see a spring on the left. Continue following the blue markings to the summit of Mont Combes, where you should stop to enjoy the 360° panorama.
(5) Take the blue trail again, which now descends slightly to Col des Bouisses, where you will find a makeshift gate held in place by an elastic band on the right. It leads to private property, so ignore it.
On the left, a deeply carved path descends westwards towards "Le Chêne Chevelu"
and the bastide of La Tourravelle, which you will soon see below on your left.
(6) At a place called "Le Chêne Chevelu" (no doubt because of the variety of oak trees with beautiful finely serrated leaves that can be seen there), descend to the left to walk alongside the bastide of La Tourravelle. This was being restored when we visited in March 2020.
Take a short walk through the terraces above the bastide to see an old well equipped with a windmill (very damaged and rusty), then return to pass through the terraced gardens just below Le Chêne Chevelu.
At the end of these terraces, go back up the path that descends towards "Les Restanques 2". In fact, you descend a gentle slope with the site of Le Revest in your sights and you can see the end of the lake at the dam.
After a wide 180° hairpin bend to the left, you will come to two crossroads: first "Les Restanques 2" and then "Les Restanques 1".
(3) At the "Les Restanques 1" signpost, take the path on the right that descends towards "Les Camps Sud". Halfway along this pleasant path, go through a makeshift wooden gate before arriving at some beautiful terraces offering a lovely view of the Dardennes district and the north-facing slope of Mont Faron. Further down, the path leads to a paved section, which ends at a junction with Route des Camps, at the "Les Camps Sud" signpost.
Turn left onto the road towards "Le Barrage". Descend until you reach the dam factory.
(7) In front of the factory that uses the dam's water, the road curves around a pretty Roman bridge, which is unfortunately not shown off to its best advantage. After taking a look, retrace your steps briefly and turn right to descend towards Dardennes, along the river flowing below on the right. This section is the low point of the walk: more than a kilometre on the road – but you can still enjoy the scenery!
You will come to the junction with the D46 road, where there is a small square with a beautiful fountain.
Cross at the pedestrian crossing and follow Chemin de la Ripelle eastwards to return to your vehicle in the car park at the end of the street (S/E).
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