The Trois Termes via La Sénancole

Loop around Gordes and its dry stone dwellings, through the valley of Sénancole and its unique Sénanque Abbey.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.00 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 55 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 463 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 463 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 592 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 248 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Start at the large car park on the left, just before the intersection of D2 and D15, about 1 km from Gordes.

From the car park, head to the left by the road heading downhill, surrounded by dry stone walls (no markings).
At the first intersection, turn right towards "Village des Bories" then at the crossroads "The Grangiers" (1), head to the left, continuing towards Village des Bories (yellow markings).
At the sign for the "Village des Bories" at the car park entrance, the direction indicating "Sénancole" in been vandalised (as of March 2014) but continue uphill to the right of the car park, following the yellow line.
If you want to visit the “Village des Bories”, it will cost €6 (as of March 2014), but you can come back by car to the end of the walk.
At the entrance of the village (2) the path goes left through olive trees and oaks. It bypasses the village on the left, goes up above the Sénancole valley then back down into it.
Once down the valley, the trail goes right. Arrive at the “La Senancole" crossroads (3) and go straight straight ahead continuing to head uphill, the sign is also broken here. Continue up, sometimes heading right, sometimes left of the Sénancole (yellow markings). Once you are on the left part, slightly uphill, you will arrive at a crossroads (4) where the yellow markings tell you to go down to the right. Leave the yellow line, DO NOT GO DOWN but continue your climb to the left in the valley (blue markings). This trail will become wilder and more challenging at times with passages where you have to use your hands but without and great difficulty.
Arrive at the Sénanque Abbey (5), head around it on the right, and enjoy the view! Then arrive at a car park and find the sign for “Abbaye de Sénaque”. Go straight towards “La Pourraque" “Croix de Pouracon", on the paved road that goes uphill. 150 m further on you will find the GR route (Red and White markings) that plunges down to the left. Take this route, it will take you back to the D117 along which you will walk for a while and cross twice. The GR then takes you up in the pines along a path. In the uphill section ignore the first right turn and continue your ascent along the GR.
At a junction in a slightly uphill S-bend (6), leave the GR route to reach the unmarked path on the right. This brings you up into the Châteauneuf Valley, staying on the main trail tending towards the right (north-east) and ignore all the paths that lead off clearly to the right or left when you encounter crossroads. This trail will widen, leading to a forest track (yellow markings). Head down to the right to a car park at the crossing with the D117 to the sign for “Les Trois Trois Termes" (7).
Then take head in the direction of "Gordes" (yellow markings). This trail will take you back to Gordes town centre (ignore all the paths leading off and keep to the markings).
Go through the high Sénancole valley, an area remarkable for its beautiful micro-landscapes and the value of its natural heritage.
At the junction of La Gacholle (8) turn right on the road and follow it for 500 m and go left on the road.
Once arrived at the village square (9), take the time to enjoy the town then head in the direction of "Cavaillon", “Village des Bories". You will go down by road, but it has the best views of Gordes.

Once at the sign for "Bel Air" (10), continue on the road towards the "Col de Gordes", following the yellow markings leading to near the roundabout of the D2 and D15. Turn right to reach the car park.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 268 m - Car park at the entrance to Gordes on the left
  2. 1 : km 0.46 - alt. 266 m - Les Grangiers
  3. 2 : km 1.68 - alt. 278 m - Village des Bories
  4. 3 : km 3.01 - alt. 265 m - La - Sénancole (cours d'eau)
  5. 4 : km 3.75 - alt. 301 m - Blue markings
  6. 5 : km 5.08 - alt. 365 m - Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque
  7. 6 : km 6.87 - alt. 491 m - Leaving the GR
  8. 7 : km 8.69 - alt. 573 m - Les Trois Termes
  9. 8 : km 12.25 - alt. 443 m - La Gacholle
  10. 9 : km 13.97 - alt. 351 m - Gordes
  11. 10 : km 15.16 - alt. 320 m - Bel Air
  12. S/E : km 16 - alt. 268 m - Car park at the entrance to Gordes

In the nearby area

Visit the dry stone dwellings in the Village des Bories, after the walk, 2 minutes by car from the car park.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 47 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Maximilienne
Maximilienne

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jan 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

Perfect, many thanks

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Gusciglio Salvatore
Gusciglio Salvatore

Hello, this hike will take place in July 2024 with a group of hikers from the Arpernaz club (Belgium).

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Les VANgabonds
Les VANgabonds

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Difficult passage in the brook of senancole to see impossible with the accesses of the abbey to go up on the left to recover the GRP (rather hard)

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Philippe13
Philippe13

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful walk
But be careful between points 4 and 5: you need to look for the right path (the blue track is not always well marked).
Then avoid the D115 road between points 8 and 9, which is of no interest. Instead, go through the area with the beautiful houses surrounded by dry stone walls, taking the first road on the right when you are on the D115 and you will find the track between points 9 and 10.

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mmendret
mmendret

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : N/A
Busy trail : No

I followed the route with my GPS, but after a while I couldn't find a reliable route between points 4 & 5. I turned back.
I came across another couple doing the same walk, and they too turned back.
As it stands, this route is not to be taken, as it leads to dangerous places.

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viaplata
viaplata

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

No markings. Between points 4 and 5 we couldn't find the way. So we followed the yellow markings that took us back up to the D117 and extended the route. You have to be careful here as it's more like climbing. The rest is easy despite the stony, uneven terrain caused by recent rain showers.

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flo2mat9
flo2mat9

Hello, excuse me, I was mistaken about the hike; I meant the one "From Gordes to the Sénanque Abbey via the Sénancole".

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FLOCH
FLOCH ★

Hello and thank you for this review.

"I hadn't read the reviews before doing the hike but already many people were noting signage problems on this route."

I re-read the various reviews of this walk.

Contrary to your statement, the many reviews are quite positive.
A re-reading will allow you to verify this.

Sincerely

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flo2mat9
flo2mat9
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

I hadn't read the reviews before going on the walk, but many people had already noted problems with the signposting on this route. We were among those who made a mistake from the start of the drystone shelter car park, and the lack of signposting on the route meant that we couldn't rectify our mistake.

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Agnes84
Agnes84

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Very nice tour. Thank you

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jrf
jrf

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very pretty route that passes close to the village of Les Drystone Shelters and goes around the Sénanque Abbey. Don't hesitate to cross a 2.50 m high rock, which is the only "difficulty" of the route. On the way back, you can visit Gordes, but it's still very busy in mid-September. The return to the car park is a little long, but offers fine views of Gordes.

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gagrob
gagrob

Overall rating : 1.7 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Busy trail : No

little-used paths in places invaded by threads (like spider webs) with little caterpillars crawling into your clothes.........very unpleasant

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Chouettard
Chouettard

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

Nice walk, well signposted, although at point 4 the red route cannot be followed and you have to cross the bed of the Sénancole, join the blue route and continue.
On the downside: the trees are infested with moths along most of the route, which is rather unpleasant. It's a pity, otherwise the walk would have been pleasant and peaceful.

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visonapoli
visonapoli

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Nice walk and not many people despite the holidays ....
We did this walk "half way" by cutting across the GR 6 ... and we clocked up nearly 14 kms ... including the laps around the Sénanque site and its lavender fields, not forgetting Gordes.
For guidance, there was a small problem just after point 4 on the "blue" route, which is easy to lose in the rocks; especially as the red "visorando" route does not follow my route on the ground (in the bed of the Sénancole ... impracticable): in fact the red route is on the left of the bed of the Sénacole when we are on the right ... we had doubts before continuing to join the red route further on ...
Thanks to the visor.

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sylvie84210
sylvie84210

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

nice walk but too much tarmac at the end

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