Short circular loop of Roc d'Orque

Park in the car park at Plaisance near the bridge over the Bouissou, between the D22E14 and the access road to the Town Hall. (See Practical Information).

(S/E) From the car park,head towards the bar and the town hall. Walk along the tennis courts on your left until you reach the bridge over the Ruisseau du Bouissou. Take a path on the left that goes up to the road. Turn right onto the^D22E14for a few metres and after the bend, about 200 m further on, you will see a calvary on your left. (There is very little traffic on this road, but walk along it with caution).

Yellow and yellow-red markings

(1) Leave the tarmac road and follow the GRP® Haut Languedoc et Vignobles trail on the left, which runs parallel to the tarmac road. Cross the village of Saint-Geniès-de-Varensal, passing in front of the church square, and return to the road via a long flight of steps. Cross the road and the bridge over the Bouissou (signposted "Les Combals") and you will reach a fork.

(2) Go left, enter a disused quarry, and the marked trail continues immediately to the right, at the entrance to this old quarry. It leads to a stony track, turn right. The track climbs and arrives at a recently built building that occupies the old GRP® route. Continue climbing the track to find the path that branches off to the left (signposted) further up. This fairly steep path leads back to the track. Take the marked path opposite, which continues uphill. A few hundred metres further up, at Baussas, you will see a flat area on the left that leads into the woods.

No markings

(3) It is marked by a large cairn, then a second cairn a little further on. See Practical Information.
This passage leads to a grassy track that connects with the rest of the route. It leads to a new, stony track. Descend on the right to the first hairpin bend.

(4) Leave the track and take a path on the right that climbs slightly, then descends slightly to cross a small stream via a footbridge. This well-marked path then climbs again to reach the small ruined hamlet of Orquette.

(5) The path continues to the right (cairns) and continues under imposing cliffs to reach a beautiful waterfall whose waters resurface at the foot of the cliff. A few metres before reaching the waterfall, it is interesting to climb through the woods and scree to the resurgence. This allows you to see this geological curiosity.

(6) Turn around to go back down the original path. Head right, cross the waterfall and continue along the path through a pine forest with a ground covered in creeping ivy. Cross another (smaller) stream and continue along the path that winds along the hillside to reach a ruined house. The path continues westwards, passing under the Roc d'Orque to reach the Moulin d'Orque.

(7) Ignore the path that climbs to the right and descend towards the house, following the path discreetly marked with yellow arrows. It passes along the edge of private property (which is clearly marked by an owner who is very determined to defend it). Cross a pretty stone bridge to reach a concrete track. Go up to the left, pass through a metal gate and, at the first bend in the track, continue climbing up a grassy track. This will take you to the hamlet of Le Péras, on the D922 (Route de Lacaune).

(8) Take the pavement on the left for about a hundred metres and leave the road to climb left towards "Les Sauzes". Continue along this section of tarmac road and, about seven hundred metres further on, turn right onto a stony track. A little further on, ignore the track on the left and continue climbing up a few bends before descending slightly to a crossroads.

(9) Follow the track carefully to find the start of the descent on the left (used by mountain bikers who have created a very steep route with jumps). Descend in wide hairpin bends to cut across the slope, which can be slippery at times due to the very gravelly ground surface. The descent ends on a stony track; turn right. Pass near Bosc Mort (elevation 556) and continue on the track on the left. At the next intersection of tracks, turn left again and continue for about 250 m to reach a ruined stone house (Roudema).

(10) Leave the gravel track and take a grassy track. Walk alongside a private property (fenced house and garage) and continue downhill to take a footpath. It was blocked by brambles, which we cleared away. This avoids walking on the D922 in a hairpin bend, which can be dangerous. The route then continues along a gravel track, leading to a small tarmac road that enters Plaisance.

(11) Turn left and you will arrive at the D922. Cross the road and go down the embankment opposite the Town Hall, then turn right to return to the car park (S/E).

(S/E) From Béziers, head towards Bédarieux (D 909) then take the D 909A to Hérépian. Continue on the D 13 to reach Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare. Enter the village and take the street on the left, then follow the one-way street on the right towards Saint-Geniès-de-Varensal. At the village exit, continue on the D922, arrive at Andabre and turn right onto the^D22E14to Plaisance (commune of Saint-Geniès-de-Varensal). Park on the right after crossing the bridge over the Bouissou.

After the heavy rains of the previous week, the stream was almost impossible to cross, as the flow of the waterfall had at least tripled in volume compared to previous times we had seen it.

(3) From this point, we searched for and reopened an abandoned trail so that we could complete the circular route that follows. We cleared it and marked it with yellow paint circles on the trees (at eye level) and a few cairns.