Country:
District:
Park your car near La Coutronne, on the D45A, known as the Sainte-Baume road. There are several small parking areas for 1 or 2 cars where you can park safely.
(S/E) The hike begins shortly after a left turn on the road. The trail heads east for a few dozen metres, then north.
(1) At the first fork, turn right towards the east, heading towards an isolated farm and a few buildings north of La Coutronne.
When you reach a fence, go around it on the left, descending slightly.
(2) After a few dozen metres, the path crosses an old small bridge (low wall on the left). Immediately turn left into the old bed of the Source de la Coutronne.
You will come to another low wall, then a path (marked with a dotted line on the IGN map) that heads west.
(3) The junction to the Ravin de la Coutronne is not obvious. Don't miss the start, which begins with an old waterfall on a smooth wall that cannot be crossed without climbing equipment. You will therefore have to go around it quite a long way off the path to the north (right bank) through a pile of rocks and a small, fairly steep scree slope.
You will quickly reach the bottom of the waterfall and a few pools with some aquatic vegetation. This will be one of only two signs of water in this ravine (as of April 2015).
Do not take the clearly visible path that goes up towards the woods, but descend straight into the ravine bed and stay there. The only other exception is another waterfall that cannot be crossed without equipment, which must be bypassed, again to the north (right bank).
Progressing through the ravine is not easy, but it is fun. There are no markings, no paths, and the vegetation is quite dense, even in the middle of the riverbed. Some of the pools and waterfalls are truly majestic. However, moss and lichens have covered most of the rocks, shrubs are growing in the riverbed, and humus and leaves clutter all the holes due to the absence of water. Is there water here on days when there are heavy storms?
There are also several metal carcasses of old charcoal kilns and wood-burning furnaces, some of which were swept away on a day of strong currents and are now stuck in trees or rocks.
This unmarked section of the ravine stretches for just over a kilometre, with a 75-metre drop.
(4) Still in the ravine bed, but calmer, we join the yellow-marked trail, which leads to the Ravin des Infernets. At the junction, in the bed of the Coutronne itself, a low dry stone structure was probably a sheep pen.
We continue our descent, sometimes in the ravine, sometimes on its slopes, but always on an excellent path (marked in dotted purple on the IGN map), sometimes lined with beautiful dry stone walls built by our ancestors; this path is always marked in yellow.
The Coutronne river joins the Infernets river (which descends from the Dents de Roque Forcade), a river that is always very active, but sometimes above ground and sometimes underground.
(5) The trail splits in two at a fork in the dry riverbed. On the left, a yellow cross indicates the trail not to take (we will return this way on the way back). Continue to the right, staying as close as possible to the bed of the Infernets, rather than on the trail that runs alongside it. This makes the hike more challenging and enjoyable.
The water in the river, while not abundant, becomes much more noticeable as you descend.
(6) You will arrive at Les Encanaux, leaving the double-arched stone bridge on your right, with a track leading to Les Héliantes and the Bois de la Lare. Keep left on the track that leads to the vast flat area of Les Encanaux, following a beautiful vertical cliff covered with vegetation. Do not cross the Vède bridge (which leads to the Encanaux car park).
(7) This is the end of the hike.
The return journey is a loop via the Balcon des Infernets, an old mule track connecting the Glacière des Encanaux to the roads leading to towns, particularly Marseille.
On the esplanade, before crossing the Vède bridge, look for the wooden steps that climb steeply to the left and mark the start of the blue-marked trail.
You will soon reach the old Glacière des Encanaux, a ruined building on the right.
Continue climbing, ignoring the numerous paths that branch off to the left or right.
Take thesecond path on the right, marked by a red mark on a tree.
Then follow the red marks for a short while, then occasional yellow markings.
A few cairns also mark the main trail.
Reach the ridge or small pass of Les Infernets, which overlooks the Ravin des Infernets at an altitude of 380 metres, via this north face.
The path here is perfectly marked and well signposted in yellow. Pass close to the Abri du Figuier, then just below the Grotte des Infernets and the Grotte des Morts (mistakenly marked simply as "Grte" on the map), then under the Gouffre des Morts (mistakenly marked as "Grotte des Morts" on the map).
After an easy 400m climb on virtually the same contour line, the trail finally descends towards the ravine, which you overlooked from the 380m contour line.
(5) This brings you to the bed of the Infernets, which you already passed on the way there.
Then follow the same route as on the way there, on the path still marked in yellow.
(4) You will reach the sheep park. Leave the ravine bed and take the path on the right that climbs up the north side of the Coutronne ravine, moving away from the river bed you took on the way up. The trail is still marked in yellow. Do not stray from this marked path.
Then return to the starting point (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Easy 
