Introduction

It is rare to be able to explore several caves with very different appearances in the same place, just a few steps from a road and a parking lot. We are here on the eastern slope of the Combe de Bérigoule. It is one of the many dry valleys in the Lubéron plateau. Here, this slope forms a cliff about twenty metres high and the caves are all at the foot of that rock wall.

These caves are also the site of a religiously motivated massacre in the 16th century. The Waldensians are a large group of believers with a Christian base, but renouncing all wealth. They are therefore in strong opposition to the kleptokratic catholic church, which declares the Waldensians heretics and persecutes them. Originally from Lyon in the 12th century, the Waldensians also settled massively in Provence to integrate well and persist until the 16th century. However, since 1540, the lords and bishops of Provence began a war against the Waldensians of the Luberon.

22 villages were burned in April 1545. Fleeing the massacres, 25 Waldensian women and children fled to Murs. This village gave support to the Waldensians for a long time. They took refuge in the Bérigoule caves. Their cache was revealed in the week of April 20 to 27, 1545 to the representative of the Pope's vice-legate in Avignon. In front of the caves, he summons the Waldensians to surrender, but they do not move. The catholics then light fires to suffocate them all. The bones were found in the 20th century to prove this massacre in the name of the catholic church. Although a large part of the Waldensians were murdered during these massacres, they continued attacks against catholics until the end of the wars of religion in Provence in 1595.

The facts

2,5 km total distance

1 h 30 min walk time

110 m total elevation

orientation average

mark 65% of the total distance

65% forest roads

20% moderate trails

10% trail through a cave

dangers dark caves

children only with experience

useful picnic stuff

required trekking boots, headlamp, helmet, hiking equipment and water

GPS coordinates (WGS84) of start and end point 43.974129,5.255555

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Public transport

There is no public transport to reach the starting point or nearby villages. The site is 22 kilometres away from Apt. This city can be reached by regional lines, see Zou! (only french)

Access by car

We are in the northwest part of the Luberon.

From the south, we reach Cavaillon on the A7 motorway. First follow the signs towards Apt, then towards Gordes. In the center of the village, take the road uphill towards Murs at the roundabout near the castle. Continue towards Sault for five minutes.

From the Durance Valley, go up via Volx, Saint-Maime and Céreste towards Apt. Here towards Sault, then towards Cavaillon and shortly after towards Murs. Continue towards Sault for five minutes.

From the north, join the D4 road under Venasque and continue towards Murs. At the intersection with the D15A, continue towards Sault and do the same at the next intersection. Continue in this direction for three minutes.

In any case, locate the Chemin de Bérigoule sign on the left.

Useful parking spaces

There is enough space at the start of Chemin de Bérigoule.

Hints

The caves are of different difficulty. Follow the directions in the different sections. In any case, headlamps are needed for everyone. A helmet is recommended at least for the Grotte au Petit Trou. A bicycle helmet does the job.

You can approach the forest trail by bike in five minutes. Bikes can be locked at the electric pole near the final climb.

The whole region is a zone with a high risk of forest fires. In summer, but also in other seasons when it is very dry or by strong winds, access to the forest areas can be regulated. As a result, the roads may be closed to traffic and/or the trails prohibited to hikers. Current information: Map for access to the forests of the Vaucluse department (only french). The map shows the colours green, yellow, orange and red which correspond to levels of danger.

The sections

1. Access to the cliff of Bérigoule
2. The cave with the oblong section
3. The cave with natural arches
4. The cave full of soot
5. The cave with the little hole
6. The cave with parallel galeries
7. Return to the starting point

Section 1: Chemin de Bérigoule

➙ 0,9 km ... 20 min ➚ 40 m ➘ 5 m ↝ easy

90% forest roads, few marks

10% moderate trails, cairns

We take the Chemin de Bérigoule, the municipal sign calls it Barigoule. It goes up a little, then we go down towards another forest track. It is bordered by electrical poles on the left and telephone poles on the right. There is yellow marking here. It goes down a little and then rises gently up again.

The road makes several small bends and we continue for a few minutes until we find a large cairn on the right. This is the sign for us to go up to the cliff on the right.

The path goes very directly up the wooded slope. We pass a few more cairns.

We arrive at the foot of the cliff at two openings too small to access. We take a left here.

Section 2: Grotte oblongue

➙ 0,1 km ... 10 min ➚ 5 m ➘ 10 m ↝ average

20% moderate trails, cairns

80% trail through a cave, without marks

We advance at the foot of the cliff to the left for less than twenty meters to find an oval opening a little higher up.

This opening is easily accessible by climbing a little.

Thereafter, the tunnel is almost straight, the ground is quite flat and the opening is quite high. You have to bend over a bit to accommodate the leaning section all the way through.

After about 15 metres, the cave ends with short sections to the left and right. Here there are limestone concretions on the ceiling.

It is not possible to continue exploring, we must retrace our steps.

Section 3: Grotte à arches naturelles

➙ 0,1 km ... 10 min ➚ 20 m ➘ 15 m ↝ average

25% moderate trails, without marks

75% trail through a cave, without marks

Twenty metres further to the north is another much larger opening. It is partly closed by a dry stone wall. This cave was to be used as an animal enclosure.

After the first arch, we arrive at a large open-air space.

Ahead is a conglomerate barrier which forms another natural arch. We first go to the right at the top. For the return, you can take the lower central part.

A conglomerate is a rock composed of discernible pieces held together by natural cement. Here, the basic rocks resulting from mechanical degradation are also limestone, just like cement base.

At the left is another opening to the sky. It is smaller, taller and more vertical. Fragments of conglomerate limestone stick to the walls. You can go down ahead to the right, but the potential passages are all blocked.

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We return to the exit by taking below right.

We are bachon the open central space occupied by a single tree.

Section 4: Grotte fumée

➙ 0,1 km ... 10 min ➚ 0 m ➘ 0 m ↝ average

70% moderate trails, without marks

30% trail through a cave, without marks

This is probably not the cave where the Waldensians were asphyxiated in the 16th century by the Catholics because it is not large enough for 25 people and the traces of ash as well as the wall in front are too recent. There is a large first room and smaller, shorter spaces follow behind. The small cave had probably been used as a charcoal oven in the early 20th century.

Subsequently, we find other small openings in the wall.

Section 5: Petit Trou

➙ 0,1 km ... 10 min ➚ 20 m ➘ 20 m ↝ average

25% moderate trails, without marks

75% trail through a cave, without marks

This is probably the cave where the Waldensians women and children were murdered by the henchmen of the catholic church. The rear cavity is quite large, the only access is small and it has no other exit. We find black and ocher marks in the access which can refer to the dead.

Access to the first part of the cave is easy. It is a large room with a flat floor, but covered with large rocks.

On the left, you can climb up and see a small circular opening which narrows into a funnel. The opening remains quite large thereafter. The pipe is approximately two metres long and leads to a flat place at the top of the room that follows. You have to lie on your stomach to pass.

You would need very strong lamps to get an impression of the room or any traces of the massacre. A headlamp and a cell phone lamp are not enough to illuminate the room.

The highest part of the room is just after the small hole. The room floor and ceiling slope to the right and forward. Rocks of different sizes cover the entire ground.

Further ahead, you can advance under a rock to arrive in front of a fault with irregular ground. We did not explore further due to lack of effective lighting. There is no draft in the room, so it is potentially closed everywhere else.

For the return, we have as a marker a sort of reddish moon, it corresponds to the small hole through which we entered and through which we must exit.

On the way back, we have a better impression of the room.

The exit is just as grueling as the entrance. We are happy to see the light of day again!

Section 6: Galeries parallèles

➙ 0,1 km ... 10 min ➚ 5 m ➘ 5 m ↝ average

30% moderate trails, without marks

70% trail through a cave, without marks

You must first climb a few metres into the first vaulted cavity which is still open to the outside. The bottom of this cavity is blocked.

There is a first tunnel on the right returning to the open air shortly after. The exit is blocked by a large rock, but this opening would lead into a void in any case.

On the left are the two parallel galleries. They really look like the photo, apart from the arrows, this photo is not altered.

We enter through the tunnel on the left. People of normal height will have to lower their heads.

This exterior gallery is lit by a natural opening in the wall.

Shortly after opening to the outside, the gallery turns right to arrive at the interior gallery. It would continue towards the left, but this passage is blocked by large rocks.

However, by turning right, we quickly find daylight and the central place of the cave again. The interior gallery has a more irregular floor and a lower ceiling.

Section 7: Retour

➙ 1,2 km ... 20 min ➚ 10 m ➘ 55 m ↝ easy

30% moderate trails, cairns

70% forest roads, few marks

There are no more notable caves further ahead. However, you can continue the path to arrive in a cirque surrounded by overhanging rocky areas.

It is possible to continue this path until the end of the rocks and climb while always keeping to the right. We come across another path to take again to the right and 70 metres further, we come back to the road Route de Sault D15. Here on the right to return to the starting point.

We retrace our steps, passing under all the caves that we explored on the way out. We also go back down the same path towards the cairn on the Chemin de Bérigoule.

Don't forget to turn left at the intersection. We then abandon the power line and only follow the telephone line.

We are back in a few minutes at the starting point.

Sources and additional information

It is better to use a good topographic hiking map: this tour is on the IGN map "Cavaillon, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, PNR du Lubéron", scale 1:25000, 3142OT.

If you don't want to bother with a paper map, you can also use mapping apps on your cell phone. On the one hand, it is the Géoportail app from the official map service IGN. However, it requires access to the data network and this is sometimes difficult in canyons or remote locations.

Alternatively, you can use apps that store data directly on the device. They're generally not free, but they don't cost much. We mainly use OSMAnd, here it is possible to add contour lines, relief shading, markings and others. To store this data on your phone you need a lot of space.

Of course, one needs access to satellites for the GPS signal with any app. In some canyons this is not the case. Therefore, do not rely on the position shown, but read the map on your phone as you would read it on paper. Most apps are available for Android and iPhone. The applications usually allow us to record the route travelled and also view the GPS files offered for each of our hikes.

This page has been seen 304 times since 20 March 2024.