The sublime tour of Fontjoncouse

The starting point is the car park in the village of Fontjoncouse, on the right-hand side of the D323 when coming from Portel.

(S/E) Enter the village on foot via Avenue Saint-Victor, passing the town hall (on your left) and then a restaurant (on your right).

(1) Turn left, then right, and continue along the main road, Avenue de Coustouge.

(2) At the last house in the village (on the right-hand side), just before the village exit sign, turn left onto a path that runs alongside a meadow. This leads to a poorly maintained asphalt road. Follow this road straight ahead (west-southwest) for about one kilometre. Look for the sign on the left indicating the Fontjoncouse climbing site.

(3) Then turn left onto the path that climbs (south-east) at the foot of the cliffs of the climbing site.
You will see a small canyon; climb up it heading south-east. A chain helps you to cross a sloping slab. Inside the canyon, continue on the left, following the path that climbs upwards. At the top, to exit the canyon, turn left heading north-east. Reach the Devès plateau, following the path and cairns carefully.
Be careful not to approach the edge of the cliffs, as there is a risk of falling.

(4) Pass under the Arche Perdue and continue along the path through the heath towards the south-east.

(5) You will come to a farm track; follow it to the left. You will reach a crossroads with a track suitable for vehicles (on the left, you can return directly to the village if necessary).

(6) Follow the track on the right, heading south. Stay on this track for 1.4 km and ignore the turnings on the left. You will reach a crossroads at an elevation of 311 metres.

(7) Take the^second path on the left (signposted "Palats"), heading south-southeast. This is the old Monédiaire path. Follow it for 900 m to cross the Monédiaire plateau. Pass some ruined sheepfolds, then a Gallo-Roman lime kiln. You will reach a track. Follow it to the left to descend to the Col de Guira.

(8) Descend to the right towards the south-west, towards a vineyard and ploughed fields. This is the Pallats plain: in the centre, you will see a tumulus topped by a dolmen. At a fork, turn left towards the dolmen, taking the path that leads to the vineyards.

(9) Take the path on the right between the vineyards to reach the Dolmen de Palats. Retrace your steps.

(9) Continue along the path on the right (east-southeast). After about 400 metres, the path turns left. Shortly afterwards, at a three-way junction, take the path on the left. You will reach a fenced vineyard; go around it on the left. Then squeeze between two vineyards and you will come out in an abandoned meadow (magnificent view of the Saint-Cristol plain on the right and the summit of Saint-Victor topped with antennas).
Please note: at the top of this meadow, there is an apiary for harvesting rosemary (only in spring).
Cross the meadow straight ahead (north-northeast), heading towards a "wall" of broom in which a passage has been created. Continue and cross the Saint-Cristol stream (source).

(10) After crossing the stream, first turn left then right and continue to follow the track and cairns in a north-easterly direction. You will come to an abandoned vineyard on your left. Pass it and join the farm track that leads to it. Follow this track to the D123 road (be careful, this track is full of fossils).

(11) At the end of the path, you will reach a carriage road. Turn right and continue for 220 metres until you reach the D123 road. Cross the road to the right and take the carriage road opposite (dirt track). Enter the Saint-Cristol plain, site of an ancient Visigothic chapel. Pass in front of a hunters' hut.

(12) A hundred metres or so further on, note a very old tree on the left (perhaps 200 years old or more) and continue along the path. Further on, you will see the entrance to a rally company (no entry). Continue along the carriage road through the vineyards, ignoring the paths on the left and right.

(13) At elevation 297, the road makes a hairpin turn to the right and begins the descent into the Saint-Victor valley (concrete road). You will reach a crossroads.

(14) Turn right, heading south, for 200 m, pass the sign for "Bergeries de Saint-Pierre" and turn sharply left, heading east, onto the renovated and asphalted farm track that climbs up to the Hermitage of Saint-Victor.

(15) At the top, where the Hermitage of Saint-Victor is located, head north to take the downhill path (small sign marked "retour"). This 2 km long path follows the ridge called "La Cadorque", which runs roughly north-northwest. Pass through an area with a sharp limestone pavement, continue along the path until you reach the D123 road. Follow this road westwards, cross the small stone bridge over the Barras stream and continue for 70 m.

(16) Turn right onto a dirt track heading north. Continue for about 270 m until you come to a fenced vineyard. Go around it on the left for 10 m, following the fence, then turn completely left to climb up some rocks. (This detour leads to the other end of the fenced vineyard).

Reach a path leading to the final plateau of the hike: the Selve plateau. Follow this path for about 800 m until you reach a carriage track. Turn left towards the west and follow this track for 260 m.

(17) Turn left onto a path marked by a large cairn. This path leads to the pastoral shelter known as "Caune du Beurre" (100 m to the south), a shelter used by the first shepherds of Fontjoncouse.

Caution: This shelter is a partially filled chasm, covered by heath. This means that you only see it at the last moment, so you must be very careful when approaching it. The chasm is on your right-hand side as you walk along the path: there is a high risk of falling. The path passes 0.5 m from the edge of the hole. A torch is useful.
Return to the track.

(17) Continue south-west for about 650 m until you reach a crossroads. At the crossroads, turn left, heading south-west, onto the path towards Fontjoncouse.

(18) Pass in front of the Fontjoncouse honey farm, continue straight ahead and enter the village via the main street (Avenue Saint-Victor).

(1) Turn left and you will reach the starting point (S/E).

Walking sticks are very useful;
Compasses and maps;
Electric torch.

Please respect all historical sites and refrain from digging. Look and take photographs.
Dolmens are burial sites and should be respected.
Discover the flora and respect it!

Taste the famous honey of Fontjoncouse!

To contemplate all the wonders of this "pais", you have to love it and stay.

Fontjoncouse

Arche and Roc climbing area

A very wild and unspoilt environment. Here you will find very rare flora, typical of mountain ranges: Anthyllis Montana, Brassica Montana, Hormatophylla Macrocarpa, and Dianthus Deltoïdes. All these flowers are protected, some of them listed on the red list of endangered species.

Trail across the great limestone plateaus

Tabular morphology: for example, Mont Redonnel (opposite you at the Col de Guira) can be circumnavigated via the Palats and St Christol plains. Erosion has excavated the soil around Mont Redonnel to such an extent that the Jurassic Thoarcian terrain is visible (numerous fossils).

Between and Ruins of sheepfolds bearing witness to the pastoral activity that succeeded the pubescent oak forest in the Neolithic period;

Gallo-Roman lime kiln, evidence of the presence of the forest (wood for energy);

Plaine de Palats: the plain was the site of an ancient Roman property (the Palace). In the ploughed fields, you will find numerous tegulae, facing bricks and other amphora necks. Archaeological excavations have yielded finds that are now on display at the Coustouge Museum.

However, the site has been occupied since at least Neolithic times, as evidenced by the tumulus in the centre of the plain, topped by a dolmen.
Palats Dolmen: this is the most famous dolmen in the Aude region.

The large pentagonal capstone (2.65 x 2.15 m) is still in place, resting on a 1.30 m high side pillar. About 10 m to the north is a monolith (pillar?) that has slipped from the tumulus.

Between points (6) and (8), you travel through space and time (1 km/5000 years).
Between the Palats dolmen and the lime kiln: 5,000 years of history separate them!

Fossil trail between (10) and (11) you are walking on Lower Jurassic terrain (-200 million years) with fossils of terebratulidae (mussel-like) and belemnite rostra (cuttlefish) of the acrocoelites genus.

(12) Very old Phillyrea latifolia tree, approximately 200 years old. This tree grows very slowly, so it is certainly several centuries old (it began growing during the reign of Louis XV).

(15) Summit of Saint-Victor: Hermitage over 1,000 years old (dissident monks from Fontfroide), two orientation tables.

(17) The view is beautiful, overlooking the Mediterranean, Pic Saint-Victor and the Pyrenees mountain range with Canigou.
Caune du Beurre: a pastoral shelter dating back to the Neolithic period.

Fontjoncouse honey farm: Fontjoncouse honeys have been renowned since the Middle Ages!

Botanical information signs here and there along the hike.