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For the attention of moderators: the S/E has been moved due to parking difficulties reported by VR. The description has been modified accordingly.
Park in Lascours, in the Rue Bartoumieu car park, located on the left when coming from Pont de l'Étoile and on the right when coming from Roquevaire.
(S/E) Leave the car park and follow Rue Bertoumieu. Continue along Grand Rue and then Rue du Lavoir, which leads to the departmental road. Turn left and then immediately left again to follow Chemin du Marseillais, a very narrow road where caution is advised.
YellowPR® markings
(1) Look for the stony track on the left for the return journey and continue along the small road, ignoring the accesses to houses on either side. Continue to the end of the road, which is marked by a green-painted cistern.
(2) About twenty metres before this, turn left, following the signpost. Go up the narrow, stony path that leads to the Col du Marseillais, where you will join a wide track suitable for vehicles (hiking post).
YellowPR® + Yellow and RedGRP® markings are sparse and faded.
(3) Turn left and enjoy the magnificent view of Sainte-Victoire on your right.
After about 100 metres, leave the track and follow a stony path on the left which joins another track further up (signpost). Turn left again, following the sign for "Balcon des Tourdes - Mont du Marseillais". Walk about a hundred metres and look for a new signpost on the left, located on the embankment and pointing towards "Balcon des Tourdes - Lascours par Sarago".
No signposts
(4) Climb the embankment to reach the signpost and immediately turn right onto a narrow path that leads to a small rocky outcrop, then veers left to run alongside it. You will soon come to a junction (not shown on the map) marked by a small cairn. Turn right to cross the rocky outcrop at its narrowest point and reach another junction with a huge cairn.
YellowPR® + Yellow and RedGRP® markings
Turn left and head for the summit of Mont du Marseillais and its facilities.
(5) Exceptional 360° panorama. Starting from the north-west and going clockwise: La Grande Étoile, La Petite Étoile, Le Pilon du Roi, Mont Ventoux, Sainte-Victoire, Mercantour, Pic de Bretagne and Sainte-Baume. In front of the main building, head left to reach the unsecured viewpoint (caution) over Roquevaire and the Aubagne basin.
Then retrace your steps and turn left at the corner of the building to follow a wide track suitable for vehicles. Pass a white DFCI water tank and then an electric sheep pen on your left and you will reach a three-way junction. Turn left and continue to a large grassy crossroads. Turn left, leaving the yellow and red markings, walk about sixty metres and look for a yellow marker on the ground near a large rock slab.
No markings
(6) Immediately leave these markings and take a path on the right that is not very clear at first but becomes clearer at the first hairpin bend. Reach the small rounded summit (Le Défens on the map), which offers a beautiful view of Garlaban and Cap Canaille.
Head west along the rocky ridge, descending to its lowest point and crossing it by turning right (you will need to use your hands). Then turn left and continue downhill until you reach a track.
YellowPR® + Yellow and RedGRP® markings
Turn right. At the next junction, turn left, pass a hunting shelter on your left and you will reach another junction (information sign). Turn right towards a clearly visible green cistern.
(7) When you reach the cistern (no. 525), ignore the track and the narrower path marked in yellow and red that starts opposite, on the other side of the cistern. Head towards a signpost on the left.
YellowPR® markings
Turn left and follow the sign for "Puits de l'Aroumi". A little further on (mountain bike signpost + hiking signpost), ignore the path on the left and continue straight ahead to reach a new fork that is not shown on the map. Keep to the right.
(8) At the next junction (signpost with multiple markings), take a sharp left turn, following the sign for "Balcon des Tourdes - Lascours par Sarago", which is unfortunately written on the back of the sign when coming from our direction.
After descending into a small gorge, the path then continues along a balcony, skirting some rocky outcrops on the left and the Grand Vallon on the right.
(9) When you reach a fork, ignore the path on the left and turn right. Then begin the descent, which quickly becomes very steep with slippery stones underfoot (be careful not to fall). You will reach a T-junction with a very visible yellow marker on the ground.
(10) Turn right towards Lascours. The narrow path, which is very rutted in places, requires caution. You will come to a track which you should follow straight ahead towards two white-painted cisterns.
(11) At the crossroads, turn left and go through a gate with a sign saying "No entry - Private property", which only applies to motor vehicles. Start a short climb. Further on, leave the access to a house on your left and continue straight ahead.
No markings
after about 250 metres, leave the yellow markings, which turn right, and continue straight ahead. Turn right at the fork immediately after and, at the next crossroads, continue on the left. After 50 metres, there is another fork where you should turn right. Then continue straight ahead to reach Chemin du Marseillais.
(1) Turn right and retrace your steps back to the car park (S/E).
Hike completed by the author on 25 October 2018.
Visorando Member
Difficult 
Association / Club / Walk leader
