Back to the Creux du Van

The Creux du Van is one of those places that I try to avoid. Not that the place is not beautiful: it is. Unfortunately, this place is a victim of its own success. If you go there on a sunny summer day, you will find many people taking selfies (very often with their mouths pursed). That is not how I think of mountains. It should also be said that you can get to the place with little effort, as the roads leading to it are not far away. What I find most shocking is the difference I can see now compared to the first time I went there from Noiraigue. At that time, you could walk along the edge of the cliffs without any problems. Since the lockdown and overcrowding, many access points have been closed off, because the trampling of the grass, which is only a few centimeters thick, has led to the disappearance of the vegetation layer. This means that you can only approach the edge of the cliffs at certain points. I do not condemn the measures that have been taken, because it will take time for the thin layer of vegetation to regrow, but rather the disrespectful behavior. And all this just to take a selfie at this place!

For us, there was no question of going there by car. We were not going to drive up to Soliat or the Grand Vy.

We started from Noiraigue and headed towards the Oeillons farm. However, instead of following the numbered route, we followed the forest road that leads directly to the Oeillons. This is a little less interesting than following the numbered route, but the route is more direct. Above the Oeillons, we began to climb the Sentier des Quatorze Contours. At the beginning, this path is very discouraging, because the intervals between the contours are long, but they become shorter as you climb.

After the last contour, you still must climb a little to reach the edge of the cliff. On that day, a young ibex was peacefully grazing a few meters away from the people there, and it was not disturbed at all. For the rest of the hike, we followed the path that had been built to reach the other end of the rocky cirque and then headed down towards the Ferme Robert.

Route: Noiraigue – Les Oeillons – Sentier des Quatorze Contours – Creux du Van – Fontaine Froide – Ferme Robert – Noiraigue
Distance: 11.3Km
Elevation gain: 750m
Duration: 4h