The Païolive Woods

Discover a particularly interesting wood above the town of Les Vans.
Comments about this route: I did this route in 2013, and it turns out that some signs have been added since then (signposts and probably markings), which is to be expected. Hikers can then explore other trails but will always find something unique and interesting in this remarkable wood, with no chance of getting lost.

Details

42580
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.16 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 155 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 152 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 252 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 149 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the square in front of the church in Chassagnes.

(S/E) Head east down the narrow streets and join the main road to Chassanes, the D259A. Turn right and head south, passing in front of the town hall, crossing the village and joining a wide, very stony track.

(1) Continue south on a short climb until you reach another track, which is level.
Turn left onto it and head towards the Saint Eugène hermitage.

(2) Continue for about 200 metres to reach a wide platform overlooking Chassagnes. Retrace your steps and turn left onto a well-marked blue trail that leads to an interesting spot: La Gleysasse, a viewpoint and cave.

(3) Stay on the path, which is a ledge overlooking the meanders of the Chassezac river. This is theGR®®4. You will then reach a crossroads.

(4) Leave theGR®®4trail opposite and turn right onto the J (yellow) marked trail. Be careful at this point: ignore the yellow cross on the right. You will reach a place called Les Trois Seigneurs, a large crossroads of trails (you will find theGR®®4 trailhere).

(5) Ignore it again and turn left, cross the road and arrive at the Les Clairières car park. Follow the green markings, which is the Vierge

(6). This trail is a circular one that returns to the car park.
Cross the road again to return to the Les Trois Seigneurs crossroads.

(5). Then turn left onto theGR®®4. Stay on it for about 1 km, leaving the uphill track on your right to find a good path before the D901.

(7) Take this path on the right and follow the yellow markings to reach the clearly visible Chapel of Sainte Philomène.
At the chapel below, the path joins the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 191 m - Chassagnes Church car park
  2. 1 : km 0.43 - alt. 157 m - Chassagnes crossroads
  3. 2 : km 1.57 - alt. 227 m - Ermitage Saint-Eugène (Les Vans)
  4. 3 : km 3.03 - alt. 228 m - La Gleysasse. View of the gorges of the - Chassezac (rivière)
  5. 4 : km 3.78 - alt. 203 m - Crossroads
  6. 5 : km 4.73 - alt. 206 m - Carrefour des Trois Seigneurs
  7. 6 : km 5.7 - alt. 222 m - The Virgin
  8. 7 : km 8.08 - alt. 245 m - Crossroads for Sainte Philomène
  9. S/E : km 9.16 - alt. 191 m - Chassagnes Church car park

Notes

No water source.
Caution: The cliffside section requires particular vigilance if you are hiking with children.

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 158 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
AgnèsDess73
AgnèsDess73
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely walk.
This woodland is really lovely, with a beautiful view of the Chassezac halfway along the route.
No difficulty at all, but the app is very useful for staying on the right path in places...

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Perdigal
Perdigal

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike, but be aware that once you load the GPX file onto the app, you will notice that it draws quite a few straight lines.
As a result, your route will be closer to 12 km than the advertised 9 km.

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nicoprad
nicoprad

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magical route!
Lots of stones on the ground, so slippery when wet. No one else around at this time of year... perfect!

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VirginieLax
VirginieLax

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

Hiking in an enchanted forest with magnificent views along the way, especially along the cliff edge.
Simply superb, with each section offering its own charm.
The Virgin's Circular requires a little more time to savour this extraordinary place.
We took longer than the time indicated.
Not very busy considering the time of year.
Thank you for this beautiful hike 🤩👍🏻

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Chavezdominguez
Chavezdominguez

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A big thank you to the author. We enjoyed ourselves from start to finish... A magnificent hike with autumn colours to enjoy again and again. Everything was perfect. An easy hike. Just a word of caution for those who want to do it with children: there are places where there are holes and cliff edges, so be careful. And the Païolive section is child's play, which children will love, but be careful not to lose them. Lol.

A real treat!!!!! Recommended in spring or autumn and even in summer as it is shaded...

Many thanks and well done to the author....

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BernardPCT
BernardPCT

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Stunning and very varied. The view of the Chassezac Gorges is breathtaking

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BernardPCT
BernardPCT

Absolutely splendid and incredibly varied. The passage above the Chassezac Gorges is truly beautiful

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User 3059132

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Even in October, the twists and turns of this magical place are busy, but it is still possible to have fun leaving the main paths and venturing onto trails where the isolation is truly delightful, with discoveries of sculpted rocks, dense vegetation and passages between the rocks. We descended into a fault overlooking the Chassezac to arrive at a splendid cave with very photogenic light effects. In October, it was relatively quiet, but we won't be going there in summer

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jeannejo
jeannejo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Thank you for this magnificent hike with its beautiful views. The Virgin's Path is enchanting. At the end of the path, look up to the right to see the dark wooden Virgin in a hollow in the rock.

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User 12760992

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I recommend doing this route early in the morning to enjoy the peace and quiet, without too many people around.
No particular difficulty for hikers.

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monpotenico
monpotenico

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant, easy walk for children, apart from the 200-metre climb at the start of the hike. You can admire the hermitage with its splendid view; the woods with all their rocks and moss will shelter you from the sun. The ledge of the Chassezac Gorges is magnificent (but take care with children). Point 6 is not necessary.

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rochenadine1
rochenadine1

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We got off to a bad start because we didn't see the rocky climb that had been mentioned.
We passed the town hall without any problems, but after that there was a lot of grass and we couldn't see the track.
We turned around and started again below the town hall, joining a path that climbed up to the plateau.
No problems after that. Magnificent view of the Chassezac from the ledge.
We came back down the path we should have taken on the way up.
A beautiful hike with lots of people. It was Whit Monday and very hot.

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titivero
titivero

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

hike at the end of May, already very hot and effectively no water on the route

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lagger martine
lagger martine

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent landscape, very good view To do

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domiro
domiro

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

It was a very busy day on a sunny Sunday. Great views over the Chassezac for photos.

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