In the “Ochre heart” of Provence, Roussillon, part 1

In the Ochre heart of Provence, Roussillon. Following the colors, I arrived in Roussillon. The land of Ochres.

A trip has many meanings. In the Cambridge dictionary, we read; “a journey in which you go somewhere, usually for a short time, and come back again”. But a trip is also a search, a change in itself. The trip is movement, discovery and a break with everyday life.

Travel means joy, colors, smells, sharpen the senses and imbue with new sensations. It means dreaming and accumulating new, fresh and beautiful memories… Experiment and get away from everything to discover yourself again. And in a way, for me, travel is a necessity …

Following the colors, I arrived at Roussillon. The land of Ochres.

Roussillon is a beautiful small village (In the list of “Plus beaux villages de France”) with lots of colored houses and charming corners, located in La Provence. Situated at the foot of the Monts de Vaucluse, this town with its painted facades is a dream for a painter. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France and its heart is ocher.

This place has the particularity of being located right next (Or I should say above!) to one of the most important ocher deposits in the world. In their own way, ancient ocher mines open to the visitor in a magical and grandiose journey. Sculpted by man and by the passage of time, as well as by the elements, I feel myself like in a colorful dream…

Ocher is everywhere. From yellow to dark red. On the walls, on the façades of the houses, on the streets, on the roofs… And we see them in so many different tonalities and shapes that it is difficult to explain the feeling that one has walked around here. For me, it is undoubtedly a magical place. Like landing suddenly inside a picture of bright colors and intense light. That ideal of la Provence atmosphere we had once materialized here.

After visiting the village we cannot miss the following excursion. The “Sentier des Ocres”, (Path of the ocher) right next to the town, is open to the public almost all year, from February to December. Visit and explore this true geological curiosity takes about an hour or hour and a half.

In the beginning, extraction was made by the farmers. This allowed them to get an extra incoming in the winter season. In the XIXth century during the industrial revolution, the activity became professional. Quarries and factories quickly multiplied thanks to the arrival of the railway in Apt Ville, in 1880.

The competition with chemical colors caused the decline of the business and production in 1929. Today there is only one ochre extraction quarry in Gargas. We walk through colored trails that show much of the quarry in the open, surrounded at all times by lush vegetation. You can admire natural ocher walls with shades ranging from yellow to red.

After the exploitation, the landscape became wild again. Both geological history and human activities gave birth to this amazing landscape. Today vegetation colonizes the former quarries. The vegetation is specific to sandy grounds in a Provence mainly made of limestone. Many animal and vegetal species live in the water (Pelobates cultripedes), cliffs (European Bee-eater) and mines…

The entrance costs very little and I would recommend going with the children!