Discovering the hidden treasures...

We often pass through it, but we don't necessarily think about stopping at it. Take the time to go beyond the modern part of this village and go beyond the old part. There, aside, in a small plain, a water sleeps there. It is much less known than Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, and yet here too is hiding a resurgence.

The source of Bolt in Robion

To get there, just leave the village of Robion, and head south-east, along the piedmont of the Luberon massif and its impressive Baude rocks. The runoff of the water, and the freshness that emerges, gradually reveal the source of Bolt.

3.4 km long, it originates in Robion at an altitude of 128 m, near the place known as Les Rochers de Baude. This Vauclusian spring, is a tributary of the river du Coulon, which itself is that of the Durance. The Bolt spring crosses three communes, Robion where its resurgence is located, Les Taillades, and Cavaillon place of its confluence with the Coulon river.

The source of Bolt, is a place conducive to refreshment. Although it is only very little fed in summer, see dry, it only takes a stormy and rainy episode to spring again. With a flow of water changing according to the seasons or weather phenomena, we can then imagine the different palettes of landscapes that this site can offer us.

In Provence water is a rare commodity, rivers: spring, river, river, are prized by fauna, entomofauna (fauna made up of insects), and flora, they are of crucial importance for the latter. This is why the site of Bolt, presents a great richness both at the faunistic and floristic level. By opening your eye and stretching your ear you may notice the capped tit, very common in this natural environment dominated by cedars and pine forests of which it is passionate.

In spring, along the river a flowering meadow reveals itself, it is the great meeting place for forchers, then it is easy to observe different kinds of butterflies, such as: the Tobacco of Spain, the Half Mourning...

Various walks with difficulty levels ranging from easy to difficult, allow you to discover the remarkable natural site of Bolt.

For those who take the road from Avignon to Apt, it is impossible not to see it. Perched on and along the rock wall, a village will catch the eye as much by its name as by its curious houses...

The Beaumettes

Its name comes from the ancient French 'Baume ou Baumette' (itself from the Latin Balma, Balmeta) which are kinds of small natural cavities inlaid in the cliff overlooking the village. The same root is found in its Provencal name: Li Baumeto. In Provence other places have the same etymological origin such as Sainte Baume, Beaumes de Venise...

Certainly existing since the Neolithic period, some of these cavities are now converted into cave houses and are still inhabited.

The village of The Beaumettes was an obligatory passage since Roman times of Via Domitia, the ancient road that once connected Italy with Spain, which later became National 100 and crossed the municipality from one to another. Following a policy of spatial planning, due to the density of traffic and responding to a need for safety, the route of this very old road was altered to bypass the village in 1994, after extensive works.

The deviation bears the name today of the Départementale 900.

Hidden at the foot of the Luberon, the small village of Maubec is a veritable corner of calm and greenery that will offer to the most curious of visitors. Besides its charming old village for a walk away from the crowds, it is also a good starting point for hiking enthusiasts.

The Draille of the Nouguier Brothers

In the 1920s and until the end of World War II, young people from Maubec were going to cut wood in the Luberon. They were the ones who traced the starting path which is now called “the Draille of the Nouguier brothers”.

This path is often a steep slope that winds through a superb mineral landscape, overgrown by the scrubland, a path that goes up the Vallon de la Sapine to reach the top of the Petit Luberon, on the Fourcats plateau.

Here you will find the detail of the radé that offers a breathtaking view of the villages on the northern slope of the Luberon but also further on to Les Alpilles, Mont Ventoux, the valley of the Durance and Cavaillon, the valley of the Calavon and the Dentelles de Montmirail by beautiful time...