The wonderful garden of the Sauvains

When arriving in Sauve via the D999, park in the car park on the left bank of the Virdoule, slightly south of the cemetery and near the Pont Vieux.

(S/E) Walk north up the car park towards the bridge to find the La Vabre signpost. Turn left towards the "Route de la Mer de Rochers" and cross the Virdoule on the Pont Vieux.

(1) Immediately turn right onto Rue Bourboutelle, continue along the picnic area and the lake, and you will arrive at Rue des Bourgades (with the Pont Neuf on your right). Opposite, a few metres further on, turn right onto Rue des Combes.

(2) Pass Place Florian (fountain) on your left. Further on, pass the tourist office and the Conservatoire de la Fourche on your right and you will soon come to a car park on your left.

(3) Take the path on the left of the car park (or cross the car park) and continue along Travée de Corconne. After passing another car park on your right, follow a path on the right. You will arrive at the Circular Route de la Mer de Rochers (marked Les escaliers).

(4) Turn left, passing the information boards. At the next intersection, signposted Roquevaire, turn right.

(5) At the intersection, at the "Mazet à visiter" sign, take a short detour to the left to visit this pretty hut and its garden. After returning to the path, continue to the left and, 150 m further on, you will arrive at the Aven de Sauve. Be very careful! Continue on to reach an intersection at the L'aven signpost.

(6) The trail suggests making a detour to the left to explore the heath of the plateau. Although the vegetation is denser than in the Mer de Rochers, rocky outcrops are also visible.

(7) Retrace your steps to return to the L'aven marker.

(6) Continue straight ahead.

(8) At the private plots (where caravans have replaced the old mazets), continue straight ahead for another 200 metres to complete the circular trail, then retrace your steps.

(8) Turn right onto the path, which becomes tarmac as you approach the village houses. Turn right at the first intersection (Route Impériale), then right again at the next intersection. You will come back to the intersection you passed on the way out.

(3) Continue straight ahead, passing the Conservatoire de la Fourche again. Further on, you will arrive at Place Florian (fountain), which you already passed on the way there.

(2) Suggested tour of the village. Head right towards the war memorial. Continue to the right, then left onto Grande Rue, then turn right under the stone gate onto Rue du Terrail. Continue up Rue du Terrail Haut on the right. This alleyway descends back onto Rue du Terrail. Continue to the right until you reach Le Pialo square.

(9) Continue to the right, back onto Grande Rue. At the fork, keep to the right, then at Place du Vieux Marché, go up to the right onto Rue Saint-Jean (under the archway). Go down the stairs on the left, past the Hôtel de la Monnaie and then the Clock Tower.

(10) Turn right onto Passage de la Fusterie, then immediately left onto Place Astruc (fountain). Turn right onto Rue du Pont Vieux.

(1) Do not cross the Vidourle but turn right under the Porte du Pont Vieux for a return trip to the heights of the valley. You will soon reach the Porte Vieille marker and pass under the Porte Neuve on the left in the direction of Coutach. At the fork, go up to the right and you will come to a path.

(11) Follow it to the left. Shortly afterwards, ignore a path on the left and continue on this path, initially over large limestone blocks, climbing steadily with some very stony sections. To entertain yourself during the climb, examine the stones for fossils and enjoy the views that gradually unfold.
It is possible to climb to an altitude of around 200 m before reaching private hunting grounds where hikers are not welcome.

(12) Turn around and retrace your steps.

(1) Cross the Vidourle again via the Old Bridge to return to the car park (S/E).

Easy hike, standard hiking equipment, stony paths.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Some photos here

Along the interpretive trail, the rocky chaos is highlighted, as are the stone walls and old plots of land.

The dimensions of the Aven de Sauve are impressive: 90 m in circumference and 40 m deep. The Vidourle river resurfaces here after flowing underground. The karstic cave was explored by Martel. Be careful not to get too close, and keep an eye on children and dogs.

Conservatoire de la Fourche, to find out more about this Sauve speciality.

The legend:

Attracted by the resurgence of the Virdoule, men founded Sauve. The gods then entrusted the inhabitants with two secrets:
The secret of Terra Rossa, which teaches how water transforms limestone into rich, cultivable soil, and the secret of the Reblacaïres, or how to prune hackberry trees, which grow on the limestone plateau, to make incomparable pitchforks.

For centuries, the Sauvains cleared the Terra Rossa, tirelessly removing stones. They cultivated the sharp limestone pavements and turned fork production into a veritable industry, proud of the secrets they jealously guarded and proud of the trust of the gods.

For outsiders, the Rochers du Coutach were dangerous terrain, hiding chasms and precipices. The pact with the gods had decreed it so: only the Sauvains possessed the map of the karstic caves engraved in their minds.

The gods demanded ever more cleared and cultivated land, ever more walls and ingenious stone paths: in the end, it was a veritable garden of hundreds of plots with lush orchards bearing delicious fruit: cherry, fig, olive, vine, quince, apricot, plum, apple, pear, pomegranate and medlar trees... A veritable checkerboard of cultivated fields in the middle of the white stone. A marvel to behold.

The setting was magnificent, but the work of clearing the land was hard. The people of Sauve abandoned the garden, forgetting the pact they had made with the gods. The secret of the Reblacaïres was revealed, hackberry trees were cultivated outside Sauve and pitchforks were made everywhere.

The angry gods took back what they had given: disease struck the vines, cherries and pitchforks sold poorly, and the garden was overwhelmed by wild and impenetrable vegetation.