The Roquandouire Gate at the start of the route in Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare

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This hike, starting from Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare, has the advantage of taking you to the Portail de Roquandouire via a short out-and-back route, whilst avoiding the climbs up to the Serre de More and the ridge section. It takes you through the hamlets of Compeyre and Cours le Haut, before starting a circular route that offers a glimpse of the ruined castle of Nébuzon and leads to the start of a track. We will briefly leave this track to follow a balcony path on a short round trip to the foot of the Portail de Roquandouire.
The return to Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare will be downhill via theGRP®. It is a lovely hike offering beautiful views. The most physically demanding part will be completed in the morning before the lunch break.

Details

n°38052495
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.77 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,437 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,417 ft
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,238 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,050 ft
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Photos

5. View of Andabre from the balcony path
4. Roquandouire Gate
3. Balcony Path (Return)
2. SAINT GERVAIS SUR MARE: La Maison du Bailli

Description of the walk

Park in the car park at Place du Quai in Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare.

(S/E) Walk through the village towards Compeyre via Place du Quai. Turn right, cross the bridge over the Casselouvre, and head towards the multi-way junction.

(1) Turn right onto Rue de la Marianne, then continue along Rue de Villeneuve to reach the Saint-Barthélémy Chapel.

(2) At the Y-junction, turn left to reach the Pont du Casselouvre.

(3) Turn right, cross the Casselouvre again, and follow the Route de la Palisse to the centre of the hamlet of Compeyre.

(4) Turn left onto Chemin du Cambou Bas and follow it to the end. Continue along the path that follows it to reach the Casselouvre again.

(5) Ford the stream: see the notes in the ‘Practical Information’ section. Follow a short, fairly steep path for a short while. Join the tarmac road to Cours le Bas.

(6) Turn right onto it and follow it, crossing the Ruisseau de Banissou to reach the hamlet of Cours le Haut. Walk through the hamlet and continue to a crossroads.

(7) Turn left onto the path marked in yellow, called Route de Nebuzon. You will reach a bridge over the Ruisseau de l'Adrecht.

(8) Cross the bridge, continue along this path and, after a gentle climb, reach the junction ofthe GRP® Tour de la Montagne du Haut Languedoc.

(9) Cross it and continue straight ahead along the wide track to reach the Portail de Roquandouire junction.

(10) Turn left, follow the path along the ridge, which is almost flat, to reach the Portail de Roquandouire.

(11) Return, in the opposite direction, to the previous junction.

(10) Take the track to the left again, head downhill to rejoin the GRP® further on.

(12) Turn right onto it.

(13) Keep left, following the yellow and red markings, and join a track; follow this to the right, continuing in the same direction.

(14) Leave the track and turn left onto a path which leads further on to Rue du Quai at the car park on Place du Quai in Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare (S/E).

'junction with theGRP® 653, which will take us back to Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 1,079 ft - Place du Quai car park
  2. 1 : mi 0.09 - alt. 1,086 ft - Rue de la Marianne
  3. 2 : mi 0.31 - alt. 1,106 ft - Saint-Barthélémy Chapel
  4. 3 : mi 0.42 - alt. 1,079 ft - Bridge of - Casselouvre (rivière)
  5. 4 : mi 0.58 - alt. 1,158 ft - Chemin du Cambou Bas
  6. 5 : mi 0.81 - alt. 1,129 ft - Casselouvre
  7. 6 : mi 0.93 - alt. 1,171 ft - Route de Cours le Bas
  8. 7 : mi 1.27 - alt. 1,247 ft - Crossroads of paths, turn left
  9. 8 : mi 1.61 - alt. 1,378 ft - Adrecht Stream
  10. 9 : mi 2.82 - alt. 1,877 ft - GRP junction
  11. 10 : mi 3.83 - alt. 1,962 ft - Portail de Roquendouire junction
  12. 11 : mi 4.83 - alt. 2,234 ft - Roquandouire Gate
  13. 12 : mi 6.53 - alt. 1,624 ft - GRP 653
  14. 13 : mi 6.76 - alt. 1,552 ft - Junction, turn left
  15. 14 : mi 7.34 - alt. 1,299 ft - Leave the track, take the path on the left
  16. S/E : mi 7.77 - alt. 1,079 ft - Place du Quai car park

Notes

(5) Please note: if there has been heavy rain the day before, do not attempt to cross the River Casselouvre after Compeyre. There may be flooding.
In this case, do not go through the hamlet of Compeyre. Leave the Pont de Casselouvre (3) on your right and head directly towards Cours le Haut, continuing along the tarmac road which first passes through Cours le Bas.

The most physically demanding section, which some might find arduous, lies between Cours le Haut and the start of the unmarked track, as the yellow-marked path to be taken is stony.
This is a section of the marked route, classified asa PR® and known as Les Banissous. It winds its way up and down, passing beneath holm oaks in places.

Worth a visit

Between (8) and (9), you can see the ruins of Nébuzon Castle on a rocky outcrop to the right.

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

4.4 / 5
Based on 4 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
LAVALLÉ
LAVALLÉ

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route, though a bit challenging on the uphill and downhill sections.

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Philippe3478
Philippe3478

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 03, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike despite the less-than-ideal weather; we turned off at point 9 to climb up to the Serre de More – it wasn’t much longer, but the view is definitely worth the detour. Be careful, though, if it’s windy......

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Marc noel
Marc noel

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Crossing the stream at the start of the walk without getting your feet wet is very tricky, if not impossible; it’s better to go round via the road
A lovely walk, highly recommended

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Laeti 😉
Laeti 😉

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

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

Instead of going to point 9, we headed straight to point 11. Well, we added 200m of elevation gain 👍👍👍 and on the way back we followed the yellow and red/white markings. Back into the woods rather than a quiet, slightly monotonous trail...
We had a brilliant time!!! Really. Thanks to the author 🥳🥳

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noelrando
noelrando

Hello,
Indeed, there is a kennel, but it was unoccupied when I last walked this route: on 8 August 2023.

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gpsb
gpsb

Hello,
A lovely route that avoids a steep section. At point 14, you leave the track and take the path. Is there indeed a kennel at this junction?
Regards
BM

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