Le Coulazou

de fr

Starting from the beautiful medieval village of Cournonterral, this loop trail runs through heathland and plunges into the small gorges of Coulazou.

Details

n°991912
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.84 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 220 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 218 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 163 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 42 m
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Photos

Entrance to the Coulazou cave
Cournonterral

Description of the walk

Park in the large car park below the church and the Saracen tower in Cournonterral.

(S/E) Follow the Coulazou stream. Pass under the old railway viaduct and continue 300 m along the left bank to reach the Chemin du Pont crossroads.

(1) Take this road opposite, then cross the stream again and continue along the main road.
Go through an old entrance with two stone pillars. Continue along the olive grove, then the vineyard. You will reach a crossroads with two paths in the middle of the vineyard.

(2) Continue straight ahead, following the vineyard. At the end, the path climbs up through heathland and reaches the plateau.
Continue to a T-junction not far from the sheepfold, which serves as a communal shelter and is visible under the pine trees.

(3) Turn left and pass the sheepfold to reach the wide DFCI road at the cistern. Turn right and stay on this wide road, ignoring all other roads on the left and right. Reach the ford of the Grande Combe stream.

(4) Cross the ford. Continue up this path to reach elevation 152.

(5) In the bend, turn right. The road loops around and descends. At the bottom of the descent, you will reach the ford over the Coulazou.

(6) Cross and climb up opposite. Continue on the plateau, turning right twice onto the main path. Reach elevation 104.

(7) Turn right towards Pioch des Montres. Go around it to find the end of a track further on.

(8) Continue to reach the ledge of the valley. Look for a path that descends to the right and, after three steep bends, joins the river bed. The Puits de l'Aven is about 30 m to the right.

(9) Retrace your steps and follow the bed of the Coulazou, walking on the gravel and crossing a few rocky passages.
(10) After a large rock fold, climb up the bank on the left. Join a path on the right. Cross another ford, walk past a ruin and continue along the vineyard. Cross the field between the vineyard and the olive trees to reach the crossroads in the middle of the vineyard.

(2) Turn left onto the path you took on the way there and return to the first crossroads.

(1) Take the Chemin du Pont on the right to climb up and visit the old village of Cournonterral. Then return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 42 m - Large car park on the Cournonterral embankment
  2. 1 : km 0.33 - alt. 44 m - Chemin du Pont
  3. 2 : km 1.41 - alt. 59 m - Crossroads with vineyards
  4. 3 : km 2.66 - alt. 124 m - Sheepfold - Bergerie communale
  5. 4 : km 4.87 - alt. 107 m - Fording the Grande Combe stream
  6. 5 : km 5.63 - alt. 155 m - Bend at elevation 152
  7. 6 : km 7.01 - alt. 76 m - Fording on the - Coulazou (rivière)
  8. 7 : km 9.04 - alt. 104 m - Turn right at elevation 104
  9. 8 : km 10.14 - alt. 128 m - Fork in the track
  10. 9 : km 11.17 - alt. 62 m - Karstic cave
  11. 10 : km 12.37 - alt. 51 m - Rock folds
  12. S/E : km 14.83 - alt. 43 m - Large car park on the Cournonterral embankment

Notes

This hike involves numerous fords and follows the riverbed on the return leg, so it cannot be done after heavy rain.

Worth a visit

Visit the historic old village of Cournonterral, which is said to have been founded by Hannibal.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 35 reviews
Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
3.9 / 5
ch baudouin
ch baudouin

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

In fact, I did part of the Viso and part of the Midi Libre in 2018, turning right at the sheepfold, the karstic cave well and returning via the ruins of the Fournier mill, finally arriving at the viaduct where we passed underneath at the start.
That's 8.5 km, one way.

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claude courbon
claude courbon

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

I think GPS is essential. The walk is beautiful, but the end of the route, when you reach the Coulazou riverbed, is only suitable for agile walkers.

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Villeveyrac
Villeveyrac

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very interesting and surprising hike, but the end of the trail is difficult in the Coulazou riverbed.

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Frégaville
Frégaville

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The difficulty at the end of the route, with the challenging descent to the river bed and the endless walk over the pebbles and rocks of the Coulazou, means that hikers should be warned in advance. The elevation gain seems greater to me, 258 m instead of 190 m. The start of the route is interesting and fairly easy.

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yvessc
yvessc

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike. Beautiful scenery. Easy to follow using GPS.
Be careful at the end on the Coulazou riverbed (points 8 to 10). Very difficult for inexperienced hikers as it is very rocky and difficult to navigate.

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Papoodate
Papoodate

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

To avoid walking too far and as the weather was threatening, I cut across the Coulazou riverbed, which is very passable as far as the Puits de l'Aven, but the walk is slower and can be more tiring. After that, the riverbed becomes very uneven but offers beautiful landscapes of rocks and strata that are worth crossing even if progress is more difficult. Thank you

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Edipie
Edipie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful panoramic views worth recommending

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Denis3454
Denis3454

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Few people on this beautiful sunny trail in December. Alternating trails and wide forest tracks, easy to follow with GPS. Interesting karstic cave but not signposted on the ground, potentially dangerous. Return via the Coulazou riverbed, which is more tricky, especially before point 11, with large smooth vertical slabs blocking the riverbed and creating pools of varying depths. Risk of slipping, avoid in wet weather.

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Anassou
Anassou
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Interesting route. Particularly difficult in the Coulazou riverbed in the rocky section. It's impossible to get lost, but we encountered some difficulties in crossing certain sections. Beautiful geological features.

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rando7121
rando7121

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike, but the section through the stream is very long and sometimes tricky.

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athmos.oner
athmos.oner

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Everything has been said, there are many DFCI paths, but it would be a shame to miss out on this hike.
There are some lovely views, no difficulty, a few very pretty passages and, above all, don't avoid walking in the dry river bed, as this is the main attraction of this circuit.
Seeing the patient work of water on the rock is a treat for anyone who loves rocks even a little.

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pehuen
pehuen

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

i agree with one of the hikers' comments: only forest tracks, except for the descent into the river bed, not many views, vegetation similar to the Gardiole with the difference that the trails in the Gardiole offer views of the Étang d'Ethau and Sète. However, the karstic cave is very beautiful. Be careful, it is located after you arrive at the riverbed, about 30 m on the right

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Yves5134
Yves5134

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

The route may have too many tracks that are accessible to vehicles, and is used in particular for hunting posts during wild boar hunts. This was the case during our walk. So it wasn't very pleasant. Otherwise, it's a very beautiful environment with no particular difficulties except for the end, where there are some rocky sections in the Coulazou riverbed that require a bit of agility.

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jeanclaude.boyard
jeanclaude.boyard

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

As already mentioned, most of the hike is on trails, which can be a bit tedious, and the walk in the Coulazou is fun but not for everyone, especially in the fold before the exit.
The explanations at point 8 are unclear, but you can work your way through them.
Apart from two or three runners and mountain bikers, there weren't many people around.

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iom
iom

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice hike, but only to be done in low season. On 22 May, there were a lot of people

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