Cap de Serre from Lourmarin

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This is a beautiful walk that offers stunning views of the Luberon from the Durance to Mont Ventoux.

Details

n°4095006
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.46 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,316 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,306 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,014 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 709 ft
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Photos

South side
Climbing
West side
North side

Description of the walk

The walk starts on Chemin de Pierrouret, 600 m after the entrance to Château Fontvert. There are a few parking spaces on the side of the road.

(S/E) The official signpost points north towards Cadasses. Climb up alongside the vineyard, following the red and white GR®97 signposts. At the corner of the field, enter the undergrowth via a small rocky path. Follow this path, which continues uphill into the Vallon du Bon Dieu, until you reach a clearly marked intersection, avoiding all side paths.

(1) Do not descend to the left (this will be the return route) but continue climbing in the same direction. After a little less than 400 m, you will reach Cap de Serre.

(2) Continue for about a hundred metres; there is a small plateau with a pleasant view, which is an ideal spot for a picnic surrounded by the scent of thyme.

(3) Descend towards Cap de Serre and take the path back up.

(1) Descend to the right via a rocky and very steep path. The descent is rapid! Further down, the path widens to become a broad rocky track.

(4) After about 1.5 km of descent, when the slope levels off considerably, take a small path that starts on the left opposite a cultivated field. Pass under a rocky outcrop and keep strictly to the east. Continue along a grassy area on your right, ignoring any side paths, until you reach an orchard.

(5) Turn right, walk along the orchard and continue straight ahead until you reach the next crossroads.

(6) Turn left and follow the road to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 709 ft - Pierrouret Path
  2. 1 : mi 1.64 - alt. 1,772 ft - Junction of the return trail
  3. 2 : mi 1.94 - alt. 1,955 ft - Cap de Serre
  4. 3 : mi 2.07 - alt. 2,011 ft - Small plateau
  5. 4 : mi 3.57 - alt. 948 ft - Leave the track, take the path on the left
  6. 5 : mi 3.85 - alt. 863 ft - Verger
  7. 6 : mi 4.14 - alt. 778 ft - Pierrouret Path
  8. S/E : mi 4.46 - alt. 709 ft - Pierrouret Path

Notes

- Option to do a circular loop: after the (3), continue for 50m to descend on the left, arriving at the main track that descends into the valley.

- The descent, shortly after the (1), is a large, fairly stony track (used by 4x4s). Alternatively, you can descend a little lower than the (1) by continuing straight ahead on a small path at point 525 (on the IGN map).
Be careful on the first third of the descent: the slope is steep.
When the slope levels out a little, a cairn indicates a path on the left, which climbs slightly to point 352 (on the IGN map).
At the first major crossroads, leave the main path on the right and the small path straight ahead (dead end: leads to houses): take the small path on the left to stay at the same height until you reach the starting point.
Franck D

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.

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Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 20 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 6216860

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, easily accessible route for the whole family

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JDB
JDB

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

A lovely walk in the sunshine. The climb is pleasant and offers some beautiful views. The descent via the other path (to complete a circular route) is very stony.

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you for your comments, ojeannot and Jean-Claude Clémens. I have just modified the route to avoid the private passage.

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Jean-Claude Clémens
Jean-Claude Clémens
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike on easy, well-marked trails. Very enjoyable in winter as it is entirely on a south-facing slope. The end of the hike can be done on the small asphalt road to avoid the private path.

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ojeannot
ojeannot

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

A beautiful hike that I joined on foot from Lourmarin.

One small downside: the path between points 5 and 6 is a private road with a sign prohibiting access.

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User 24480530

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant route accessible from PUYVERT

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Manew92
Manew92

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We really enjoyed the route, but we got a little lost at the very beginning. After the vineyards, you have to keep to the left to avoid ending up in the brambles of the pine forest
Superb view of Lourmarin and, higher up, the cedar forest
Be careful, it goes up and down quite steeply, so you need to walk carefully

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Aymeric
Aymeric

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A short and very pleasant walk, the paths are enjoyable and the various viewpoints are magnificent.

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mmlecardonnel
mmlecardonnel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, not very busy, with views of Lourmarin and the Durance valley throughout the climb, on a small path that winds along the hillside, then views of the northern part of the Luberon when you reach the ridge!
Quick descent on a good quality but uninteresting path..
Hiking time: 1 hour 55 minutes

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sholby
sholby

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This is a hike I have done several times. It is not difficult to follow the route. However, quite soon after setting off, I noticed a strange deviation from the route, which leaves the GR – which you would normally follow to point 1 – and takes a circular route to the right, descending steeply before climbing just as abruptly. It's chaotic and there seems to be no reason for this deviation: stay on the GR.

I share the very mixed opinion about the uninteresting descent between points 1 and 5, and for this last section, I followed the author's alternative suggestion: when descending from the summit, pass point 1, ignoring the path down to the right and staying on the path used for the ascent.
A little further down, the path veers sharply to the left. You should then continue straight ahead: you can clearly see a large cairn on a hillock directly ahead, which serves as a landmark. There is no need to worry, as this alternative path is very well marked (there is a large red and white marker and a few stone markers on the upper part). Once past the cairn, the path continues straight up the slope to point 5, becoming noticeably steeper towards the bottom, but without any particular difficulty. This option is far superior to the marked route, and I highly recommend it.

If you decide to walk from Lourmarin to the starting point (this adds 4 kilometres to the total, which will prove to be quite tiring), beware of Google Maps, which suggests a route near Pierrouret that crosses private property where all traces of the path quickly disappear, forcing you to finish the walk with a machete. Stay on the road: it may seem longer, but it will be much quicker.

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Coconut65
Coconut65

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I found the directions rather mediocre...
Easy to follow almost to the top, then very vague... difficult to know whether we had arrived at Cap de Serre or not, or even if we had passed it... I also came across a group who had the same doubts.
But it didn't matter too much because the route is nice with magnificent views.
The descent via the indicated path is really awful. It's rocky, dangerous and uninteresting. You might as well go back the way you came and enjoy the view in front of you even more in that direction.

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remma
remma

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant trail with beautiful views, best enjoyed at the end of the day to admire the sunset

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Franck D
Franck D
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Pleasantly surprised by the views offered by the hike, in all four directions.
The path up the hill is really nice
Note that when you arrive in the Vallon du Bon Dieu, you are well sheltered under holm oaks, but in winter with the Mistral wind, it's freezing.
After checkpoint 3, we continued down the left side to make a circular loop.
Further down, at the junction with the descent track, we met a hunter in a 4x4 who was looking for his dog: he advised us not to go down the large stony track (which is accessible to 4x4s). Following various opinions, we decided to go back up to checkpoint 1 and continue along the same route we had taken on the way up to point 525 (IGN map) and finally descend via a small path, which was nicer but quite steep

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tarasconrando13
tarasconrando13

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The return journey from point 1 took a different route – directly to point 5, as there were big game hunters in the valley we had to take to descend towards Lourmarin.
The start and finish of this hike were at the village car park and not as indicated on the Visorando route, which extended the route by approximately 2.5 km. In summary, only the climb to point 1 was in accordance with the Visorando route

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jipeji
jipeji

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike. Reliable description. Be careful on the rocky descent, however.

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