Le Taoumé via the Vallon de Passe-Temps

A hike to the famous Taoumé, dear to Marcel Pagnol, via the Vallon de Passe-Temps from La Treille. Return via the Vallon des Escaouprés.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.57 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 562 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 565 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 668 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 142 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Car park opposite La Treille cemetery, a neighbourhood in the east of Marseille.

(S/E) Pay a quick visit to Marcel Pagnol’s grave, located just at the entrance to the cemetery, then walk back up the street and turn right onto Chemin des Bellons for about 1 km.

(1) Turn right down Chemin du Vallon de Passe-Temps and follow it to the end for 600 m.

(2) Turn right onto the path where the climb up the valley begins and follow it straight on.

(3) Turn right and continue the climb. This is a steady climb but can be steep in places. You will reach the junction with the path leading to the Baume de Passe-Temps.

(4) Turn left, ignoring this path, and enter the Vallon des Précatori, which follows on from the Vallon de Passe-Temps. Continue straight on for about 1.5 km.

(5) Turn left onto the path that passes in front of the Baume Sourne cave and reach the pass of the same name via a shaded track.

(6) Take the yellow-marked path on the left, through the trees, which climbs towards the Taoumé. Follow this path to the Pic du Taoumé.

(7) Enjoy the extraordinary 360° view of the Marseille region. Descend a few dozen metres (watch out for slippery patches) to admire the Grosibou Cave or Marcel Pagnol Cave. Head north-west along a marked path to begin the descent from the Taoumé.

(8) Take care in this section, which can be quite treacherous, and continue the descent.

(9) After about 200 m, turn left and you’ll reach a crossroads.

(10) Turn left to head down the Escaouprés valley. Don’t hesitate to walk down into the stream bed on the right to make your way through the potholes, which are more or less filled with water depending on the season. Descend to the Source du Chien, marked by clearly visible reeds.

(11) Head left up the well-marked path and continue the descent.

(12) Follow the path uphill to the left to rejoin the track heading south. Continue along this track until you reach the junction with the Chemin du Vallon de Passe-Temps, which you passed at the start.

(1) Go straight on and follow the route you took on the way up to return to the car park at La Treille cemetery (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 145 m - La Treille cemetery car park
  2. 1 : km 1.09 - alt. 217 m - Chemin de Passe-Temps
  3. 2 : km 1.7 - alt. 203 m - Path on the right
  4. 3 : km 2.74 - alt. 260 m - Path on the right
  5. 4 : km 3.81 - alt. 366 m - Path on the left
  6. 5 : km 5.22 - alt. 592 m - Crossroads, left towards Baume Sourne
  7. 6 : km 5.55 - alt. 623 m - Pass, marked path on the left
  8. 7 : km 6.32 - alt. 645 m - Pic du Taoumé
  9. 8 : km 6.55 - alt. 626 m - Tricky descent
  10. 9 : km 6.72 - alt. 579 m - Path on the left
  11. 10 : km 7.17 - alt. 518 m - Crossroads, left towards Les Escaouprés
  12. 11 : km 8 - alt. 404 m - Source du Chien
  13. 12 : km 8.77 - alt. 336 m - Climb up to the left
  14. S/E : km 11.57 - alt. 142 m - Car park

Notes

A hike organised by AMFRA Marseille.

Reviews and comments

3.8 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
User 8375500

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, peaceful and easy route for exploring the Garlaban massif. The view from Taoumé of the sea and Marseille shrouded in mist was quite unexpected.
It should be noted that you do have to go past the ‘private property’ sign. I wondered about it and took the risk, but some people may not have done so.

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Pauline99
Pauline99

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

The weather was magnificent in October for this little-travelled hike; I expected more people in these beautiful hills... That said, we didn't find the right place to turn right at point (2): if you follow the Passe-temps valley path to the end as indicated in the description (i.e. to the Relais de Passe-temps hotel-restaurant), the path that branches off to the right is blocked by a chain, with a large sign saying "private road"; we didn't dare take it, retraced our steps a little and chose the only other path, which was very narrow and difficult to see, and which led us to the Col d'Aubignane (and not to the Vallon de Passe-temps and the Vallon de Précatori). We were probably wrong to do so...
Furthermore, once at the Pic du Taoumé, it was impossible to understand how to reach the Vallon des Escaouprés (points 7-8). We finally followed the only sign and the only marked path to reach La Treille (via the Pas du Loup and the Col du Sauvage).

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juliemolto
juliemolto

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really lovely, easy walk! There’s a variety of scenery all along the way – it was truly enjoyable! We did it with a dog (a Malinois)! It took us 3 hours and 50 minutes, not including our lunch break!

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Delphes1972
Delphes1972

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Note regarding Point 2: after the information sign about Marcel Pagnol, do continue along the road (Chemin du Vallon de Passe Temps) which branches off to the left; after about 50 metres, take the path on the right that climbs up into the woods.

We couldn’t find the Baume du Passe Temps and, having reached the summit of Taoumé, we followed the yellow markings back down to La Treille :-).
It’s always a pleasure to walk in these hills where it’s hard to get lost for long

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FrankJef
FrankJef

Saved for a future hike!

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ROUGER
ROUGER

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route with stunning 180-degree views

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Hubrecht Janssen
Hubrecht Janssen

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2010
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, I did this walk over 10 years ago; I’ve downloaded it to refresh my memory.
It’s always a pleasure to walk in Pagnol’s footsteps.
It’s a beautiful region where I’ve done a lot of hiking, as well as in the Calanques.

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