The Combe d'Enfer in the Massif de Fontfroide

Access: At the "Croix Sud" roundabout on the D6009 (ex-N9), head for the Zone Industrielle de la Coupe (dual carriageway). Go straight ahead at the next roundabout. At the third roundabout, take the third exit (Avenue Paul Sabatier), then the Chemin de Jonquières after the fourth roundabout. After crossing the Autoroute des Deux Mers (A61), go as far as Domaine de Jonquières and turn right onto Chemin Vicinal de Saint-Hypolite: parking area to the right of the fire hydrant or near the gas installation.

(S/E) From the parking, head for the nearby barrier.

(1) Cross the barrier prohibiting motor vehicle traffic and take the rightmost path at a fork with three tracks. Continue west to the junction with a track at Ruisseau du Veyret. Turn left and ignore the first fork in the road on the right.

(2) Turn right at the next junction and head 500 m south-west.

(3) Turn left at the intersection to join the Combe d'Enfer valley. Follow the stream of the same name in a south-westerly direction, crossing it several times.

(4) At the confluence with another stream, turn right then left and follow the stream before crossing it. Climb up the bed of the stream, passing carefully between rocks, then take a steep path on the left to reach a track.

(5) Turn right under the Roc de Fontfroide. Join another track at the Ruisseau du Roc des Naux. Rising to 285 m, these jagged sandstone rocks have been sculpted by erosion.

(6) Go straight ahead and, after two hairpin bends, cross the combe, then follow the valley for 700 m before coming to a fork in the road.

(7) Turn right onto another track and pass under the Croix de Fontfroide (a path on the left takes you up to the top of the hill for a fine view). Reach the outbuildings of the Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide.

(8) On your right, you'll find the entrance to the restaurant and the entrance to the visit (for a fee). Turn left to pass behind the abbey.

(9) At the confluence of the Ruisseau de Fontfroide with the Ruisseau de la Quille, turn right onto the Voie Domitienne or Voie Héracléenne, which runs alongside the Ruisseau de Fontfroide (dry) on the right or left bank, depending on the successive crossings (yellow markings). Leave the valley and climb up to a track.

(10) Turn left onto that track and cross the Ruisseau de Fontfroide again. Turn right around a hill and join another track.

(11) Turn right and go 100 m before an intersection (barrier). Turn left and climb up, skirting, to the north, the ruins of La Quille (access on the right). Join another track after a barrier.

(12) Turn left into Chemin du Communal. Follow the ridge for almost 3 km to a fork above the Narbonnais waste treatment centre.

(13) Stay on the correct track on the left, paying no attention to the various forks in the road. Pass to the left of a knoll (elevation 176) and reach the gas installation you passed on the outward journey, then the parking (S/E) .

Caution: between points (4) and (5) tricky section of the Combe d'Enfer (avoid with children or in case of rain). The trail is not positioned in the same place on the ground as on the IGN map.
Alternative to avoid the section:
From the marker (3), continue on the same track for another 200 m, then turn left at the junction. After a bend, the path bends south-west into the Pinède de Fontlaurier. At the fork before the Renard spring (elevation 203), turn left onto the track, which climbs a little further before turning south and descending towards the Ruisseau du Roc des Naux valley. At the intersection, turn left and, after three hairpin bends, follow the route described at the marker (6) (+1 km).

Three routes have been marked around the abbey, one of which takes you up to the Fontfroide Cross.

Access from the right at the entrance to Fontfroide Abbey. Visit time to be added to the duration of the return trip to the gas installation (around 2h).
History of Fontfroide :
Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide was founded in 1093 on land donated by the Viscount of Narbonne. The abbey reached its apogee in 1145. In the 12th century, it was involved in the crusade against the Albigensians. In 1334, Jacques Founier, abbot of Fontfroide, became pope under the name of Benedict XII. He had the Papal Palace built in Avignon. He died there in 1342.
The decline of the abbey began in the 15th century, as the King of France imposed his abbots on the abbey, creating a château life that had nothing to do with monastic life. In 1791, the French Revolution put an end to monastic life. In 1901, the 18 monks who had returned to live there after the Revolution were expelled. This marked the separation of Church and State.
In 1908 Gustave and Madeleine Fayet bought the abbey at an auction and began a vast renovation campaign. The family has owned Fontfroide ever since.