The Marcouly Walking Route

Time needed: 1h 30m; Distance: 6.5 km - Easy; Elevation: 170 m; Start: the Château de Saumane car park.

See the orchard-filled valley, the oak grove, cave dwellings, stone huts called 'bories' and the Marquis de Sade's château on this little walk around Saumane-de-Vaucluse. Perched on a craggy hilltop, this picturesque village with its tiny cobbled streets and drystone houses dominates the Pays des Sorgues.

The walk takes you along a 'restanque' (a path lined with a drystone retaining wall) before reaching the valley floor, alongside the stream. First used in the 13th century, the terracing on the hillside made crop-growing possible here. Rainwater drains down into the valley floor where it irrigates vegetable gardens, while the terraced slopes are ideal for cultivating dryland crops such as vines, olives and almonds. Small stone huts called 'bories' are used to store tools.

The trail then continues through the oak grove, after which an uphill section leads directly to the cave dwellings of Marcouly. Bypassing the rock, you will find yourself coming out onto a limestone slab, where you can feast your eyes on the garrigue-covered landscape and the village of Saumane.

Farther on, at the Les Fayardes farm, the cliff towers over the chasm of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the source of the Sorgue. Cereal crops were grown on this plateau and livestock were brought here to graze in the summertime when the fields were fallowed. Take a look at the 'bories', stone huts that provided storage and shelter for crops, animals and shepherds.

A 'draille' (a wide road metal path that facilitated the movement of draught and pack animals and carts) brings you to the village via the Combe (valley) of Beringuier and on to the Château of Saumane, once the residence of the Marquis of Sade, who spent part of his childhood here.