The Paillère Valley

Villefort: car park on the D901 at the southern entrance to the town (near the petrol station). See practical information.

(S/E) Head uphill towards the south and turn immediately right towards Les Sédaries. At the top of the hamlet, you’ll reach a small clearing (with bins).

(1) Turn right and you’ll soon reach a Fork in the road.

(2) Follow the path on the right. This shaded, well-marked path eventually joins a small road (Chemin de Lou Poustat).

(3) Continue straight ahead and head down to the D 66.

(4) Follow it to the left and continue along the Route du Mas de la Barque (D66). Just after a housing estate on the left, you’ll reach a Fork in the road.

(5) Take Rue du Pouget on the right. Cross La Paillère. 150 m after a hairpin bend on the right, you will find a path leading off to the left in a sharp bend.

(6) Follow this path. You will reach a crossroads: signpost “Le Pouget”.

(7) Take the path furthest to the left and follow it, roughly southwards but winding, to reach the D66.

(8) Follow it to the right. 200 m further on, leave it to take a hairpin bend to the right and, after a bend to the left, you will find the “Les Chabannes” signpost.

(9) Take the track that winds sharply to the right. Ignore a path on the left and, further on, take a sharp bend to the left. At the next Fork in the road, take the track on the right and continue uphill without ever crossing the stream (Ravin de Baume), which the path follows in a series of bends, until you reach a Fork in the road.

(10) Take the wide path on the left and, heading downhill, join the D66.

(11) Follow it for a few metres to the right to find a path on the left. Follow this path down towards Les Paillères. In June 2025, as we approached the river, we were walking amongst the asphodels (already almost faded by the end of May 2026).

(12) Cross the ford, which is unpaved but not too difficult at low water. Then begin the climb up a winding path. Never take the paths branching off to the right and reach the Ravin de la Grande Barte.

(13) Cross the ford. Continue the climb along the path, now lined with broom (pruning shears may be useful), and reach the ridge at the Col de Rabusat to find the GR® markings.

(14) Follow the GR® to the left, heading due north-north-east: a beautiful, well-marked ridge path with no major difficulty (June 2025). It’s a real feast for the eyes!
After a rocky section requiring a bit of a hand-over-hand climb (but nothing dangerous), a climb takes you to the Truc de Plumat.

(15) Continue due north to reach the Col du Plo de la Voulp (marker).

(16) Continue northwards to reach the summit of the Plo de la Voulp. Then begin the descent in earnest along a steep, stony path until you reach a path branching off to the right in a hairpin bend.

(17) Follow this path: still the GR®, but the markings are barely visible. The descent levels out and the path is now well shaded. After a hairpin bend to the left, you finally reach a T-junction.

(18) Follow the correct path on the right towards the Village de Vacances des Sédaries, and you’ll come to a fork you passed on the way out.

(2) Take the route back in the opposite direction to the outward journey, remembering to turn left at the small clearing to return to the car park (S/E).

Avoid Thursdays, market day.

Good walking shoes and a walking stick are recommended.

There are a few parking spaces at (1). This saves you a good kilometre.

No water source, or perhaps in the hamlet of Les Chabannes (9)