The Mousquière and Diable viewpoints

A lovely walk through the forest, sheltered from the wind on days when the Tramontane is strong.
A challenging hike with a steep climb to reach the Belvédère de la Mousquière, but the view more than makes up for the effort!!!
Beautiful views from the Belvédères du Diable and lovely glimpses of the Quillan valley or Bugarach along the route.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.35 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 773 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 773 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 976 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 342 m

Description of the walk

Start from the church car park.

(S/E) Head south towards the Sentier du Belvédère du Diable, following the yellow markings. At the first junction, ignore the sign pointing back to the left and continue climbing south-west.

(1) At the second junction, ignore the sign for the Sentier du Belvédère du Diable on the path to the left.
Head up the path opposite, ignoring the Yellow Cross. Look for the yellow markings again and follow them. A lovely, gentle, unchallenging climb through the forest.

(2) You’ll come out onto a track; follow it to the right, towards the Chalet de Carach.

(3) Leave the track and turn left towards the chalet. Continue along the path and, a few metres further on, find a path on the left. Sign for Belvédère de la Mousquière. Follow the yellow markings, pass under the high-voltage power line and continue uphill. Take care in wet weather, as the ground is slippery.

(4) Continue to follow the yellow markings and climb the winding path to reach a track.

(5) The rest of the path lies opposite, though access is not easy (this avoids the hairpin bend on the track, which you can also follow). Continue westwards along the steeply sloping path, still following the yellow markings. This will take you to the Belvédère de la Mousquière.

(6) Turn back towards the track. Cross it and rejoin it.

(5) This time, take the track on the right and follow it to a hairpin bend at an elevation of 610 metres.

(7) Continue straight ahead and follow the path at a constant or almost constant altitude.

(8) Take the path that descends to the left (do not continue eastwards, as the path is steep and slippery). Reach another junction.

(9) Turn right to head for the Belvédère du Diable.

(10) Turn back to the previous junction.

(9) Continue straight ahead along the path, following the yellow markings.

(1) Turn right to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 342 m - Car park at the - Église Saint-Vincent (Blevianes)
  2. 1 : km 0.24 - alt. 365 m - Crossroads of the circular loop
  3. 2 : km 2.4 - alt. 585 m - Path on the right
  4. 3 : km 3.34 - alt. 493 m - Chalet de Carach
  5. 4 : km 4.14 - alt. 684 m - Follow the yellow markings
  6. 5 : km 4.38 - alt. 763 m - Track junction
  7. 6 : km 5.15 - alt. 976 m - Belvédère de la Mousquière
  8. 7 : km 7.55 - alt. 611 m - Path in the hairpin bend
  9. 8 : km 9.13 - alt. 572 m - Junction
  10. 9 : km 9.73 - alt. 435 m - Turn left at the junction towards the - Belvédère du Diable
  11. 10 : km 9.97 - alt. 437 m - Belvédère du Diable. View over the valley of the - Aude (fleuve)
  12. S/E : km 11.34 - alt. 342 m - Church car park - Église Saint-Vincent (Blevianes)

Notes

Walking poles are useful. In wet weather, the walk is generally slippery and muddy on the section from (9) to (10).

My GPS gives me a distance of 10 km – a walking time of 4 hours – and a break time of 1 hour 30 minutes.

Reviews and comments

4 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.8 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
LEFRANC Sylvie
LEFRANC Sylvie

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk through the woods with a steep climb up to the Mousquière viewpoint. However, the walk is nearly 13 km long instead of the 11 km advertised, which isn’t a problem in itself.

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Philippe  Pagès
Philippe Pagès

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, shaded walk. Beautiful views from both lookout points.

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User 25110455

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

a fairly easy hike despite the trail climbing steeply from the start, taking us away from the village. We enjoyed shade throughout the route, which made for a very pleasant walk. The route description is accurate.

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User 16707917

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, quiet walk; I was a bit disappointed by the view from the Devil’s Lookout – perhaps the trees have grown a lot and are blocking the view a bit.
I followed the GPX track, no problems, except at point 4 where it seems a path has been cleared on the left which adds a bit of distance but makes for a gentler climb; my GPS recorded 15km with 712m of elevation gain.
A very beautiful view from the La Mousquière viewpoint.

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Soie Douce C.
Soie Douce C.

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, challenging hike as there are some steep climbs (especially between points 3 and 5, and then 9 and the finish)!
Took just over 3 hours. We did it in the opposite direction to start with (viewpoint first) and changed direction between points 7 and 2 to tackle the less steep descents.

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Nataliyah
Nataliyah

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Stunning views from the Rocher de la Mousquiere. I couldn’t find the path marked out further on, so I followed the yellow markings and enjoyed a pleasant walk via the Col de Tignous, then a long stretch through the woods until I reached a junction (another pass) and a wooden sign pointing towards Belvianes. A long descent along a forest track with lovely views until I rejoined the Sentier du Diable.All in all, a very pleasant hike of less than 5 hours, so I highly recommend this route!!

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