Park in the car park at Montrosier Town Hall.
This route is virtually unmarked. The few yellow markings encountered belong to the Vallée de Bonnan route or to a route unknown to the author.
Very short section on theGRP®® Cordes-Penne-Coustous, red-yellow markings.
(S/E) With your back to the town hall and the wrought-iron wayside cross on your left, head towards the eastern corner of the square and turn into the cul-de-sac on the right.
After 50m, take the path on the left, between two houses. Walk along the gently sloping path through woods and hedgerows until you reach a track suitable for vehicles. This is the cul-de-sac, which you left shortly after starting the route, and which you have now reached again at this junction.
(1) Follow the track to the left, which changes from tarmac to gravel. Continue climbing until you reach a Fork in the road. Take the right-hand branch, a dirt track, to enter the forest. Continue climbing until you reach the T-junction at elevation 317, ignoring a path coming from the left.
(2) Turn right onto the local path. Climb up to La Peyrière, at an elevation of 347 metres. Leave the local path and veer left. The exit from the bend to the right marks the end of the climb. A wide clearing opens up with a view of the Rocher de Lexos and the Bonnan valley.
At the fork in the road, head straight on along a narrow path not shown on the IGN map. Take care as it is barely visible. Follow the cliff and, further on, you will come to a left-hand bend at elevation 371. Descend very carefully around the bend to the edge of the Ruisseau de Bonnan. The slope is very steep.
(3) Take a round trip to explore the tufa waterfall. To do this, head left. At the bridge, continue along the wide track opposite. Walk for about a hundred metres to reach the foot of the waterfall.
(4) Petrified waterfall. In summer, the waterfall is dry, but in winter the spring flows abundantly or becomes covered in stalactites if there is a frost. It is possible to walk back up to its source.
After exploring the waterfall, retrace your steps back to the previous point.
(3) Continue straight ahead, following the stream. Walking upstream along the stream is great fun if you stay on the left bank. Numerous fords offer the chance to cross to the right bank and rejoin the widePR®® trail of the Bonnan Valley. Continuing on the left bank involves ascents and descents where you’ll need to use your hands on the rocks.
(5) Ruins of an old chapel. Continue until you reach the Sentier de Bonnan trail.
(6) Cross the eponymous stream one last time. Follow the yellow-marked trail, which winds its way through the woods. Walk alongside a cattle enclosure and then a wooded pasture. You’ll come out onto a wide track suitable for vehicles.
(7) Turn left. Pass a tree that has swallowed up a small signpost on your right. You’ll arrive at the entrance to a meadow with a large shed. Carry on to a crossroads, at an elevation of 378 metres.
(8) The path runs alongside the Touron farm, where cows graze freely. Do not forget to close the pasture gates behind you. At the T-junction, turn right. At the road, continue right to enter Roussayrolles. A visit to the church is a must.
(9) Roussayrolles Church, dating from the 13th century. Continue on and pass by the picnic tables. Walk through the hamlet, heading straight ahead between the houses.
At the three-way junction, follow the wide track ofthe GRP®® Cordes-Penne-Coustous on the right. Ignore the turn-off for Les Clavillières. At the next junction, let theGRP®® head off to the left. Stay on the track and continue until you reach a path marked by a small cairn on the right.
(10) In front of the cairn, turn onto the path.
(11) Discover the tumulus-dolmen. Return to the track via the tracks heading west. Follow it to the right. Reach the Pas de la Clède junction.
(12) Turn onto the track to the right. Keep heading generally north-east. Ignore a path on the right. Keep right at the Fork in the road. Reach the track at the T-junction, elevation 327.
(13) Follow the road to the right; it winds around three bends. After the last bend, find a dirt track branching off to the left. Head diagonally along the track. Continue to the X-junction.
(14) Stay on the wide track. Continue along the left-hand branch of the X, heading north. Cut across the bend to the right at the fork in the road. Reach a T-junction.
(15) Turn sharply left. After 50m, there is a long descent. Head straight north to the bottom of the valley, in front of Bordés. Go round the building to reach the D34. Head right. Note the charming little Church of the Nativity of Our Lady as you pass. Continue straight along the road to reach the village and its town hall (A/D).
