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The route begins at the entrance to La Rochette Cemetery, known as the ‘new cemetery’, which is located past the swimming pool of the same name. Park in the large shaded car park.
(S/E) Return to the road, turn right and immediately turn right onto Chemin de la Rochette. After a short climb of about 150 m, take the path on the right blocked by large boulders. Climb up to the road and follow it to the right for about a hundred metres.
Just after the sign for Manosque (which is blocked off), take the road on the left (Chemin de Saint Martin-les-Eaux). At the junction, turn right. Continue until you reach a bend where there is a small viewpoint, set up with whatever was to hand. Enjoy a stunning view here of Manosque, the Valensole plateau and the Chiran massif.
(1) Continue along the road until you see a path climbing up to the left along the side of the embankment. This path is 20 metres before the barrier blocking access to private property.
You’ll come out onto a clearing bordered on the right by a magnificent grove of Austrian pines and on the left by a DFCI water tank.
(2) Take the track at a 90° right turn, then 50 m further on, take the path on the left indicated by a signpost with a green ring. About a hundred metres further on, you will see a troglodytic dwelling on the left.
Continue along the path leading to the Luberon ridge. Ignore a path branching off to the left. Follow the ridge. At the bottom of the very steep descent, about twenty metres before reaching a wide track, look out for green and red markings on the ground.
(3) Turn left and join a track. Do not take it, but cross it to take the small path directly opposite. Very steep, it quickly leads to the road below which serves the Géosel facilities, an underground hydrocarbon storage site.
Take this road on the left, then less than 50 m further on, look out for a small path on the right. Follow it for just under 100 m to a strange metal structure spanning a small ravine; this is the Source des Maquisards
(4) Turn back, return to the Géosel road, take it to the left until you reach the Route du Col de la Mort d’Imbert, which you follow towards the pass. Just after the pass, turn slightly left onto the forest track. Go through the gate and take the track on the right. Follow it downhill for about 1.5 km. Cross a bridge and, just after, take a path on the right, running parallel to the stream (dry except in the event of a storm). After 100 m, this path leads to an old ventilation shaft from the Gaude lignite mine, which is private property.
(5) Less than 50 m after the bridge, take the path on the left marked by a post with a green band. You will walk alongside the Riou. At the large waterfall, marked by a post with a green band and the number 32, note a window measuring approximately 1 m x 1 m on the left bank. This was the entrance to the Peyroulets water mine.
Continue along the path. It turns right to cross the Riou and climbs up to a large open area, opposite the crematorium. Take the road on the left which leads you back to the cemetery.
(S/E) If you still have a bit of energy left, almost opposite the climb up to the cemetery, you will see a green-bordered sign indicating a path below the road. This fairly steep path, less than 100 m long, takes you to the Grand Chêne, a site much loved by the people of Manosque in days gone by.
(6) Follow the same route back to the cemetery car park (S/E).
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