Moderator update on 16 March 2020: several reviews of this hike suggest that the Visorando app or a GPS device is useful.
Park in the Berlou Town Hall car park.
(S/E) Return to the D177 (Avenue de la Mairie), turn right towards the church, then turn left towards the cooperative winery.
(1) Turn left and follow Chemin de la Curayé to rejoin the D177E1. Turn left and continue to the hamlet of La Mausse.
(2) In La Mausse, turn right and go up the concrete road. Leave the hamlet and follow the path, ignoring the turn-off to the pylons on the left. Then go straight down towards the Ruisseau du Mas Blanc stream.
(3) At the crossroads, take a small path on the left, stay on the upper part of the vineyard and follow this path, passing by the Mas Blanc hut. Continue along this path to the Col de Merly.
(4) Cross the D177, descend opposite and take the first path through the vineyards. Stay on the hillside, heading generally east-south-east, and rejoin the Chemin de Calisso.
(5) Turn left and walk about ten metres, leaving the track that descends towards Ceps on your left and taking the main path on the right. Pass two vineyard paths on your right. On the left, you can see the villages of Escagnés, Mezeilles and Ceps with its bridge over the Orb. When you reach the edge of the vineyard, continue on the left, passing through the top of the vineyard and enjoying the view over the vineyard and the village of Berlou.
(6) At a cairn on the side of the vineyard, take a small path on the left that climbs up through holm oaks and arbutus trees. Cross a slate quarry where, in the middle, another cairn on the right indicates the location of a drystone shelter (stone hut) below. You will have a superb view of Roquebrun and the Orb valley thanks to a short detour to the right.
When you reach the Calisso keel, an IGN marker (elevation 379) indicates the boundary between the municipalities of Berlou and Roquebrun. Take the path on the left that descends towards Roquebrun and joins a wide track.
(7) Take the path on the right, leave La Claretière on your right, walk along the vineyard with the well covered by a small building and you will come to a crossroads.
(8) Turn right and begin the descent towards the Rieu Berlou valley. Take a first hairpin bend to the left, then a second to the right, and you will come out onto a tarmac track.
(9) Turn right, passing the ruins of La Glaudette. Take a short detour to the left to see the Mouline waterfall under the bridge. Return to the tarmac track and keep right at the next crossroads, following the Calisso stream.
(10) Take another dirt track on the right which descends towards vineyards and a pine forest. At the first junction, turn right then left and continue to a fork, following a path on the right.
(11) Turn left, then left again twice and go uphill following the small stream.
(12) When you reach a small bridge, take the tarmac road on the left and head uphill towards the Margot pine trees.
(13) At this point, take the time to enjoy the panoramic view of the Berlou vineyard with the imposing Caroux massif, which rises to 1,050 metres, in the background. Continue straight ahead on the tarmac road to begin the return to Berlou, then, on the descent, take the track on the right after the pine trees.
Follow this track, passing by the cemetery, and enter Berlou via Rue de l'Égalité.
(1) Continue straight ahead, descend towards the church and turn right to return to the Town Hall car park (S/E).
Moderator's note: mixed reviews on this hike; see comments at the bottom of this page.
