The Col de Terre Blanche

Circular route around the Séolane.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.76 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 904 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 910 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,241 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,580 m

Photos

Description of the walk

At Méolans, cross the Ubaye river at the Maison du Bois. Before the first hamlet, turn left onto the Route de Gaudeissard, continue to the hamlet of Les Besses, and park at the end of the track.
(S/E) Take theGR®6-56signposted Col de la Séolane. After a few hairpin bends, you will reach a crossroads.

(1) Take the left-hand path, which is aPR® (yellow markings), following the signs for Col de Terre Blanche. Pass a fountain before reaching a path on the left coming from Montourioux. Take this path, leaving the one marked for the pass on your right. Descend until you reach a car park.

(2) Climb up a wide track opposite: signposted Croix de Châteauneuf. Then join thePR® marked trail that winds through the forest.

(3) Reach a ridge before a long flat section. Then begin the final climb, walk past a hut, take the valley opposite and finish with a large circular loop to reach the cairn and the pass sign.

(4) Descend opposite, passing between the two peaks overlooking the valley and into the forest, following the yellow rectangles to return to the initialPR® crossroads.

(1) Then follow the same route as on the way up to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,597 m - Parking at the end of the track
  2. 1 : km 0.96 - alt. 1,822 m - GR6-56 PR crossroads
  3. 2 : km 2.63 - alt. 1,587 m - Montourioux car park
  4. 3 : km 4.4 - alt. 2,015 m - Ridge
  5. 4 : km 6.06 - alt. 2,237 m - Col de Terre Blanche
  6. S/E : km 8.76 - alt. 1,591 m - Parking at the end of the track

Notes

The water from the fountain in the forest is worth filling your water bottle with.

Worth a visit

A beautiful, uncrowded hike that allows you to discover the limestone peaks of Ailette and its neighbour, Séolane des Besses. The forest trails are remarkable, making the hike easy.
If you are lucky and patient, you may spot young chamois playing on the snowfields of the Ailette.

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

4.3 / 5
Based on 11 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
guy21310
guy21310

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, we did this hike on 20/08/24. The approach by car is quite tricky and it is practically impossible to reach the end of the track. We parked after the sculptor's house.

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Claraazimut
Claraazimut

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I did this hike with my dogs. I didn't come across any herds. We took a detour and climbed up to the Château Renard cross, which offers a beautiful view of the valley! You can't be afraid of heights to go there... This hike is almost entirely in the forest, so it's shaded and cool, which is a plus given the elevation gain! There are two water points, which are great for dogs. A challenging but very beautiful hike!

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pieroblanc
pieroblanc

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This is a beautiful hike that deserves to be better known, but it starts from Montourioux.
Avoid this hike in bad weather as the descent can be tricky.

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bpatin05@laposte.net
bpatin05@laposte.net

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I strongly advise against doing this hike as described:
The departure from the hamlet of Les Besses requires you to descend the first 300 metres of elevation (between the start and the fountain) to reach the hamlet of Montourioux, which is not pleasant. From Montourioux, the route up to Rocherenard is damaged by a track and forestry operations. There is no parking available in the hamlet of Les Besses (the track is very damaged).
From Les Besses, it is preferable to do the hike as a round trip on the same route.
If you want to do the circular, it is better to start from Montourioux.
The hiking time is greatly underestimated.

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patembrun
patembrun

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike done in the direction described in the guidebook (which suits me much better given the ascents and descents).
A pleasant hike with varied scenery, well-distributed effort, and rich and varied views throughout the circular.
Departure from Les Besses: 9 a.m.
Col des Terres Blanches: 12:15 p.m.
Return: 2 p.m.

Thank you for this beautiful circular.

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baf9901
baf9901

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hiking through varied landscapes. At the pass, we enjoy the panorama and the majestic Séolanes above our heads.

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michlafay
michlafay

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 28, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I did the hike in the opposite direction. It's a very beautiful route, but quite challenging because the slope is steep throughout the hike. The only downside is that you have to be careful when you reach the forestry track. This has replaced the original path and the signposting hasn't really been updated
Don't forget to stop by the Château Renard cross.

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marie.heyries
marie.heyries

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hike completed in the opposite direction

Pleasant route through the forest with many varieties of flowers in June. No animals sighted.
Be careful, as there are some steep climbs. Beautiful view of the Barcelonnette valley and beautiful landscapes.

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grand_mel
grand_mel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Beautiful hike, didn't see any animals. Take the time to go to the Château Renard cross (5 minutes) for a beautiful view.
Please note that the route is 11 km long.

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Elriena
Elriena

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
We did the hike today, but in the opposite direction for the circular one. It took about 5.5 hours with breaks. However, there was a steep incline from the start and almost all the way along (both uphill and downhill). It was tough going. Access is complicated. Fortunately, there are few people who do it (we didn't meet anyone apart from the chamois ).
Apart from that, the views and scenery are magnificent. A hike that's well worth it!

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Elriena
Elriena

Hello,
We did this hike today, but in the opposite direction for the circular one. It took about 5.5 hours with breaks. However, there was a steep incline right from the start and almost all the way along (both uphill and downhill). It was tough going. Access is complicated. Fortunately, there aren't many people who do it (we didn't meet anyone apart from the chamois :-)).
Other than that, the views and scenery are magnificent. A hike that's well worth it!

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patcoise
patcoise
• Edited:

I haven't done them yet!!!
Kind regards

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POUPOUNE63
POUPOUNE63

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2014
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant hike, but a bit long. The guidebook estimated 5 hours, but it took us 7 hours plus a 1-hour break. In my opinion, it should be classified as difficult due to its length. We didn't see anyone else on the trail all day.

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