Walking In Provence

There is a lovely walk following the little canal of water that comes from a source and flows down to the village to the Fountain. I ti about 4 Kilometers and takes about an hour and a quarter. Walk out of the village towards Salernes, Past the chemist and the post office. when you reach the main road, cross over, turning left. To the right of a little batch of letter boxes are some steps going down frm the road. this is the begining of the path that follows the canal of water that brings the water to the lavoirs and fountain in the vilage of Flayosc. The path eventually finishes at the source about an hour and a quarter from the village.

Hiking trails just south of the village, between Flayosc and Lorgues, allow some loop hikes in the wooded hills around Le Peyrega and Les Lunettes, and past the hamlet of Sauve-Clare with its waterfall.

The nearest trails to the north are in the mountains between Tourtour, Ampus and Chàteaudouble, about 10 km away.
To the southwest, there are a number of hiking trails in the hills between Lorgues and Salernes.

Abbaye du Thoronet
Set in the Forêt de la Darboussière. The woods are pretty, but there are old bauxite mines scattered throughout the region. (Bauxite was first discovered in Les-Baux-de-Provence, about 120 km west of here.)
One hike starts out south of the abbey (on the parking-lot side of the road), loops around southeast through the forest, northeast to the village of Le Thoronet, northwest to Les Févriers and Les Camails, and then back south to the abbey.
If you take the trail north from the abbey, it's about 2 km to Camails and the Argens river. There you could take the opposite direction of the loop (described above), or there are many trails going both directions along the river valley. There are also several different trails going north through the hills and valleys, to Entrecasteaux and Salernes among other places.

Map of L'Abbaye du Thorone

Location: Flayosc
Region: Var, Provence
South of France
Near: Draguignan

Waterfall at Sauve-Clare, Flayosc
The waterfall is about 2 km south of the village on a pretty country lane through the fields and forests. The waterfall is small but beutiful and is near a huge tree next to the road. The water comes out over very mossy stones that have built up from deposits over thousands of years. There is a cave at the top, beside the falls, that goes back into the rocks and the ruins of a huge old mill are nearby, above the waterfall.

Waterfall nearby to Flayosc

The Gorges du Verdon
Don't worry about spending a whole day for a walk through the canyon. It should be counted as one of France's great walks because, although it is hard work, the panorama of the Haute Provence is just overwhelming and makes the effort worthwhile. The path, called Sentier Martel which leads onto the Sentier de l'Imbut, alternates between the canyon's shoulders and the riverside, thus entailing a lot of climbing up and down.

Parking a car and entering the canyon is only possible at the ends of the upper canyon. Since the tour takes some four to six hours, it is hardly feasible to walk through the canyon and return to the starting point on the same day. Therefore it is a good idea to form two teams, each with their own car. Have the teams park their cars at opposite ends and start the tour from there, and exchange the car keys upon meeting each other halfway through the canyon. Take good care to not leave any precious items in the car and to use a more crowded parking space, since lots of cars get stolen from remote parking places.

The following outfit is recommended:
Strong footwear: The path is marked by some colour dots here and there on a rock, and very little else. In some places the path crosses some heaps of gravel, and the rocks that are exposed to the mist become quite slippery. However, some women have been spotted negotiating the canyon in high heeled shoes.

Warm clothing: Even in the summer it gets quite fresh in the shadow of the canyon walls and especially at the canyon's bottom.

A bottle of water.

Optional: A mobile phone and a camera with enough spare film.

Flashlight: From Point Sublime, the path starts with a few tunnels. Without a torch you would keep both stepping into puddles and hitting your head on the low tunnel ceilings.

Promenades dans le Verdon
www.carto.net/verdon
Information about visiting paths in the Grand Canyon du Verdon and surounding area, from the bottom to the top of cliffs.

Climbing

Le Verdon is an unbeatable place to go climbing. 933 climbing routes have been classified amongst the cliffs of Le Verdon. The most famous, "la falaise de l'escalès", is 300 vertical metres high. Le Verdon caters for all climbing styles and levels, and climbers come here from around the world. The cliffs and rock-faces are undoubtedly one of the most popular meeting places in the climbing world.

Good climbing places:

Quinson
100 possible climbing routes (all levels), from 80 to 100 m.
Rock quality: Good/limestone

Site managed by:
Club d'escalade de Quinson.
04500 Quinson
+33 (0)4 92 74 40 04

Moustiers Sainte Marie
Located at the entrance of the Verdon Canyons there are 20 possibles routes with average level of difficulty, from 25 to 50 m.
Rock quality : Good/limestone

Aiguines
Pictures
This small village of a few hundred people can be found on the D957 24 Km from Aups near the Gorges du Verdon, just above the lake of St. Croix. It has spectacular views of the canyons, wich makes Aiguines very attractive to climbing enthusiasts and has become very well known as a mountain climbing center.

La Palud
360° picture
1500 possible routes (all levels), from 20 to 300 m.
Rock quality : Excellent/limestone

Site managed by:
Association Lei Lagramusas
04120 La Palud sur Verdon
+33 (0)4 92 77 38 02

Castellane
20 possible routes (easy), from 10 to 20 m.
Rock quality : Good/limestone

Site managed by:
Association Vives Les Gestes
04240 Annot
+33 (0)4 92 83 35 17

Gorges du Verdon