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Start from the car park at the foot of the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse cemetery, on the edge of the Route Touristique de Gordes.
(S/E) Follow the road away from the village until you reach a small car park where a track begins on the left, marked by a signpost for Font de l’Oule.
(1) Follow this track uphill until you reach a fork.
(2) Ignore the track on the left and continue uphill. Pass a hairpin bend and reach the start of a path on the left, at the junction of two small valleys, at the foot of facing rock faces, about a hundred metres above.
(3) Head towards the valley to the left of these rocks, taking the path that branches off to the left through the woodland. This path tends to fade away after a few metres; ignore a small path that climbs to the right and continue to the left along the valley floor. You will very quickly come across a track that climbs steeply. It is clearly visible; follow it until you come to a small cliff face.
(4) Turn right and continue climbing, diagonally across the slope. Numerous paths, some more clearly marked than others, appear. Make your way easily through the shrubbery towards the ridge and reach it.
(5) Continue to the left, downhill, and generally follow the summit ridge. You can, with caution, approach the edge of the cliff to enjoy magnificent views. Reach the promontory at the end of the ridge and find the ruins of what might be an old chapel.
(6) Turn back and head for the junction with the path leading up from the bottom of the valley.
(5) Continue along the ridge and reach a three-way junction as you approach a more wooded section.
(7) Turn right, head into the woodland and arrive at the next T-junction, at the end of a flat stretch.
(8) Ignore the path climbing to the left and head slightly downhill to the right. Follow the clearly visible path to a fork. Keep left and you’ll very quickly reach a second fork on a flat stretch.
(9) Ignore the path on the right, which appears to head towards the summit of the ridge, and head left. This path descends towards the Oule valley, then follows the edge of a small rock. At the end of this, you’ll notice a dry-stone wall higher up, directly below the cliff (certainly an ancient shelter), and head steeply down to the left. After a steep descent of around a hundred metres, the path joins a track. Follow it downhill, then quickly take the grassy path on the left to reach the Fontaine de l’Oule cave.
(10) Then continue down the track until you rejoin the route you took earlier.
(3) Continue down the track, retracing your steps from the outward journey. Pass the hairpin bend and reach the next junction of tracks.
(2) Take the track on the right, which is slightly uphill. Follow this track, which then descends, until you reach the castle ruins.
(11) After taking in the scenery and the various viewpoints, continue along the downhill path. At the road that runs through the village, turn right until you reach the start of the left-hand bend.
(12) Before crossing the bridge over the Sorgue, turn right into the Passage Arquá Pétrarca (open from 7 am to 7 pm or 8 pm, depending on the season), which has been carved out of the rock, and head to the park on the left bank of the river.
(13) Return via the same route.
(12) Cross the bridge over the Sorgue, then take the shopping street on the right. Follow this, then continue along the concrete path until you reach the vicinity of the spring. Access to the foot of the cliff is prohibited due to the risk of falling rocks.
(14) Return along the same route to the end of the street, cross the bridge and arrive at the entrance to the Passage Arquá Pétrarca.
(12) Continue to the right along the road, then after 250 m, turn left onto Chemin du Guérisseur and carry on straight ahead until you reach the car park below the cemetery (S/E).
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