The Adous Canal at Malaussène

Park in the car park at the entrance to the village.

(S/E) Make your way to the square where the starting marker for the Serse route is located. Do not take that route; instead, head down the street to the right until you reach the wash house.

(1) At the wash house, take the small alleyway on the left: there’s a yellow sign on the corner, see photo. Along the route, you’ll find various information boards in front of wash houses and an oil mill.

(2) Carry on straight ahead, leaving the path on your left which you will use for the return journey. Cross the aqueduct and continue along the path that runs alongside the canal, which you can recognise by the inspection hatches in the ground.

(3) Stay on the path on the right – the flattest one – continuing to follow the canal. You’ll come to a footbridge.

(4) Carry on straight ahead, continuing to follow the canal. At junctions with other paths, always take the flattest path. You may sometimes have to walk on the canal itself when the path is too narrow.

(5) Turn back. But there’s nothing to stop you from carrying on to the end of the canal path.

(4) Just before crossing the footbridge again, turn right onto a stony track which joins a flat path on the right. Then cross a tree-thinning area (where no work was taking place when we passed through in August 2021), and reach a sharp bend to the right of the track.

(6) At this bend in the track, it is a little difficult to spot the path on the left leading to the Serse route, as there are no markings. This barely visible path climbs towards some ruins, which you should leave on your left. Follow the GPS track.

At the next fork, continue straight on and rejoin the Serse route, marked in yellow.

(7) Caution: there has been a small rockslide on the path; cross it with due care. You will then rejoin the path you took on the way there.

(3) Turn right, following the route you took on the way there.

(2) Leave the canal and continue to the right along the path marked in yellow until you reach the centre of the village. Return to the car park where you started (S/E).

For a family-friendly and/or leisurely walk, I recommend doing the round trip without taking the fork (4) on the return leg. That way, you won’t have to find your way at (6), nor will you have to climb over the small scree slope on the Serse track after (7).

The route is almost flat and largely shaded, making it suitable for summer walks… but do bring water with you, as the water from the canal is not drinkable.

The village of Malaussène is picturesque and full of flowers.

Highly informative signs explaining the importance of water in the villages of the Haut-Var line the start of the canal route.