Saint-Probace - Caramy Gorges in Tourves

A beautiful hike in the hills above Tourves.
Remarkable view of the Saint-Maximin plain and the Montagne de la Loube.
A wonderful encounter and visit to the Saint-Probace Chapel.

Details

69896
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.33 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 274 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 265 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 514 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 274 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The car park is located at the entrance to the Gorges du Caramy. To get there, take the road from Tourves stadium to Chemin des Gres, then Chemin du Moulin towards Gorges du Caramy.
(!) Please note: comment from a user on 10 March 2026 => The car park indicated is "closed" from 15 June to 15 September.
Car parks are available closer to the village, which adds about 1 km in each direction.

(S/E) The hike starts by taking the tarmac road towards Tourves for 750m.

(1) At the old fish farm, turn left, ignore the small paths on the right and left, and continue along this path until you reach the Saint-Probace pilgrimage route.

(3) This path climbs quite steeply towards the chapel: there is a wonderful view of Tourves, Saint-Maximin to the north and La Loube and Sainte-Baume to the south. This will take you to the Chapel of Saint-Probace.

(4) Continue straight ahead on the ridge path with its breathtaking scenery.
Descend this path to the "Bergerie de Sayou" crossroads with a track. A signpost from the Conseil Général 83 indicates the various destinations.

(5) Turn left towards "Tourves via the Gorges du Caramy".
At the next junction, turn right and, during the steep climb, look for a path on the left.

(6) Turn left onto this small path.
Ignore the next path on the left and you will come to a track with another signpost.

(7) Turn left and begin the descent into the rocky and fairly steep gorges to arrive at Caramy at the Carrefour des Trois Chênes.

(8) Turn left and follow the path down the river to reach an old farm called "Les Rimbert".

(9) Feel free to take the fishermen's paths to get closer to the Caramy. Take the wide track to reach the Roman bridge "Pont de Cassède".
The car park is 50 m away (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 275 m - Car park at the entrance to the Gorges du - Caramy (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 0.74 - alt. 276 m - Leave the tarmac road.
  3. 2 : km 0.91 - alt. 302 m
  4. 3 : km 1.78 - alt. 348 m - Pilgrimage route
  5. 4 : km 2.61 - alt. 504 m - Chapel of St-Probace
  6. 5 : km 4.38 - alt. 403 m - Sayou sheepfold. Fork in the road, left. Track
  7. 6 : km 4.65 - alt. 442 m - Fork in the road, left
  8. 7 : km 5.16 - alt. 412 m - Fork in the road, left. Track
  9. 8 : km 5.79 - alt. 340 m - Carrefour des Trois Chênes
  10. 9 : km 6.93 - alt. 298 m - Farm: Les Rimbert
  11. S/E : km 8.33 - alt. 275 m - Car park at the entrance to the Gorges du - Caramy (rivière)

Notes

No water source.

(4) A hermit (Brother Séraphin) lives at the Saint-Probace chapel.
He can open the chapel for you and even have a picnic with you in his garden. He is very welcoming and will share your meal.

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 154 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
fouado
fouado

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk, a fascinating encounter with Séraphin, the hermit… superb panoramic views from the chapel’s esplanade, and to round it off, a lovely stroll along the riverbank!

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Pablo de Solliès
Pablo de Solliès

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 08, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It’s one of the most beautiful walks to do in spring in the Var

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BackPacker
BackPacker

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I’ve been doing this route for several years. My route is slightly different.
I don’t go via points 5 & 6 as my route takes me past points 452 & 427 – marked in yellow.
Otherwise, I follow the same route to enjoy the banks of the beautiful Caramy, which is full of water at the moment.

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gisyl
gisyl

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 12, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely, enjoyable walk. It starts with a good climb up to St Probace Chapel, after which it’s a gentle stroll.

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lemarcheur65
lemarcheur65 ★

Hello User 28328193
Thank you for your comment.
Start of annotated description.

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User 28328193

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The car park indicated is "closed" from 15 June to 15 September.
Car parks are available closer to the village, which adds about 1 km in each direction.
Beautiful views during the first part of the walk.

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castellas
castellas

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 09, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

With a wonderful opportunity to dip your feet in the Caramy at snack time.

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gagou13
gagou13

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and varied hike. Everyone in my team was delighted.

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SBNT
SBNT

To put it simply :
follow the yellow PR route and you'll be fine.
You can, of course, do it in any direction you like.
Enjoy the walk!

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dougere
dougere

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice walk. Brother Sérafin opened the chapel to us and explained its history. The panorama is superb. We followed the route as described, but if we did it again, we wouldn't go down to point 5, go up to 6 and then back down to 7. We would keep to the yellow-marked ridge path that goes off to the left before 5 and rejoin the route described just before 7. Work is underway to improve the gorges from the car park to the Rimbert farm. I think there will be even more people along the river in summer.

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Roland1fois
Roland1fois

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did some reconnaissance in the direction of the topo and then in the opposite direction with the hiking group to find ourselves at the top, in the sun, for the picnic break. Quite an easy hike, very pleasant.
The gorge car park is closed for repairs until January.
Thanks

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jolo07
jolo07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was a lovely walk, especially as the Caramy was full of water following the previous week's rain!

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Fci
Fci
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Difficult starting point to find. The description should be changed. A very fine walk, not very difficult, with magnificent views of the Sainte-Baume, the Sainte Victoire and the Loube on the first part. The second part is a very pleasant walk in the shade along the Caramy.

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squale1953
squale1953

I'm correcting the description to improve the start of this walk.

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kitty64
kitty64

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I found the walk very pleasant, with a wide variety of landscapes along the way.
The starting point is not easy to find. I had indicated Chemin des Grès on my GPS and we finally arrived at the car park at the start of the walk, at the end of a dead-end road. The rest of the route is fairly easy to follow, except for the fork to the left, on a very small path, on a bend, on a climb, where you tend to look at your feet!
And surprise, when we arrived at St Probace, after sweating a bit, we discovered a magnificent viewpoint and the Hermit, who heard us coming, opened the door of the Chapel to show us around! The icing on the cake!
In spring, this walk is superb, because in the Caramy gorges the vegetation is a monochrome of green, there's a lot of water in the river and trees over a hundred years old, particularly plane trees! Very nice walk!

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