Enter Sorèze via the D85 and continue to the roundabout opposite the Super U supermarket. Then turn right (if coming from Revel) or left (if coming from Dourgne) to park in the large car park after passing a second small roundabout.
__YellowPR®® signposting
(S/E) Head towards the car park entrance and, at the small roundabout, turn left, following the direction of two hiking signs pointing towards the Oppidum de Berniquaut and Durfort. Pass a stained-glass and mosaic workshop on your right and continue along the small, shaded road, ignoring the various paths branching off to the right.
(1) At the junction (with a ‘no through road’ sign straight ahead about 20 metres away), turn left onto the Chemin de l’Oppidum, a small tarmacked road which climbs steeply and becomes unpaved at the last house.
Then follow the wide, partly gravelled track as it winds round several bends, ignoring a first wide grassy path on the left and then a second, narrower one, also on the left. You will reach the information board about the Berniquaut Oppidum.
(2) After reading this highly informative and well-researched sign, continue along the track which leads out of the woods and opens onto a vast grassy area offering a beautiful view over the Sor and Durfort valleys. Turn left at a 90° angle to the path and head towards another large information board about the village and the Dufort site, with the summit of the Berniquaut rock in sight.
The path narrows to a track and the gradient steepens considerably. Use your hands to help you cross a few smooth slabs – which present no difficulty – to reach a second viewpoint overlooking the Sorèze plain and the Saint-Ferréol reservoir. Continue to the paragliding take-off area, marked by two wind socks (bench).
(3) Continue along the signposted path which follows a ridge that is by turns wooded and open, offering fine views of the Sor valley to the right and a large quarry to the left, where a constant hum attests to the intense activity.
No signposting
(4) At the junction marked by several directional signs, head left and pass two further signs for the Oppidum de Berniquaut and the Montagne Noire. Follow the narrow path leading to the archaeological site, which showcases a number of medieval dwellings.
(5) Turn back.
YellowPR®® signposting
(4) Now head straight on along the path which, at a small clearing, gives way to a wide, partly paved slanting street leading to a second, larger clearing where there is a crossroads.
(6) Ignore the path on the right which descends towards Durfort; continue straight ahead for about ten metres, then turn right, leaving the wide path which continues straight on (take care not to miss this junction).
You’ll soon reach another sign providing information about the ridge path you’re following – an ancient trade route linking the Mediterranean to the Atlantic – as well as about the large standing stone (Peyra Ficada) on the left, adorned with numerous cup marks. Continue straight on through the woodland until you come out onto a wide track.
(7) Carry on straight ahead. About fifty metres further on, leave this track and take a narrower path on the right. This path alternates between sections through woodland and more open areas, and becomes overgrown in places due to regrowth. Ignore a wide track coming from the left. Shortly afterwards, you’ll emerge onto the track leading to the houses at Jacournassy; leave these on your right and carry straight on until you reach a tarmac road (with a small pond below on the left).
No signposting
(8) Go straight on and continue to the junction with the road leading to Le Montagnet (a fine, rather rusty iron cross).
YellowPR®® signposting
(9) Turn left, leaving the tarmac road to take a wide track lined with remarkable trees for the first few hundred metres. Carry on straight ahead, heading north-east then east, ignoring a track on the right closed off by a gate. At the next junction (elevation 687), go straight on to join the D45.
(10) Turn left and walk carefully along this road, making the most of the left-hand verge where the grass has been mown. At the start of a very slight left-hand bend, cross the road and take a wide, shaded path on the right (blocked by a chain and rutted due to timber hauling – as at July 2018), following the signpost indicating the site of Saint-Jammes and its centuries-old beech tree. Cross the meadow and head towards the beech tree and the ruins of the chapel.
(11) After taking in the site (new information board), with your back to the chapel, head off to the right and enter the pine wood; you’ll soon come out onto a wide, recently resurfaced track suitable for vehicles.
Yellow markings
Turn right and follow the track, ignoring two turnings on the right. Pass between two ONF signs to reach a 90° right-hand bend (picnic table) near the wooden hut grandly named ‘Relais de Trinquebise’ on the IGN map, which can be seen on the left beneath the trees. Continue to the right, ignoring the grassy track that heads straight ahead, until you reach a large crossroads.
(12) Turn left at a right angle and, at a sharp bend to the right (elevation 641), leave this track to head straight on along a wide, partly overgrown path. At the junction about a hundred metres further on, ignore the paths and tracks on either side and continue straight ahead downhill to a junction opposite an old entrance gate to the quarry.
13:: Ignore the track suitable for vehicles on the right, walk a few metres and, at a red ‘Private Property’ sign, take the small tarmac road on the right, which slopes gently downwards, following the sign for ‘Access to Calel Cave’.
Follow this road, which further on gives way to a wide, sunken track running alongside the quarry fence on your left. Cross a footbridge and head left towards an information sign about the Calel Cave, a former iron-mining site from the Middle Ages.
(14) Once you’ve had a look at the sign (if you wish), head right to enter the large sinkhole which marks the location of part of the mine site; cross it and emerge by following a narrow, winding path which soon opens out onto a wide track. Turn left and head due west to reach the orientation table and the viewpoint.
(15) Set off again north-west, but slightly north of the path you took to the viewpoint, heading towards a large information board on the Causse de Sorèze Karst Discovery Trail near a small metal gate.
Turn left to pass through the gate and follow the narrower path that winds its way through the box trees. Walk down this rather steep path, taking care to close any metal gates you come across. You’ll reach Sorèze at the cemetery (recycling bins on the left).
(16) Turn left onto the road (D45) and walk alongside it, taking the usual precautions as there are no safety barriers. Pass the first road on the right (Rue Felix Borrel) and take the next one on the right, which is blocked by a chain. This street (Chemin du Tour du Parc on the map) will approach the Ruisseau d’Orival and then run alongside it.
After passing a wash house and directly opposite Rue Saint-Martin, turn left onto the footbridge that crosses the stream to return to the starting car park (S/E).

