Hiking - Le Bois de la Moulière

An itinerary which will lead you through the pine woods, a rare environment in the high Var Valley which will show you an example of forestry management which promotes biodiversity.
The pine woods of La Moulière are a home to bird life typical of such an environment, which depends on maintenance of old trees with hollows in them. The Eurasian pygmy owl and the boreal owl can be seen here; they make use of the holes and hollows drilled by black woodpeckers.

Cross the village via the washhouse until you reach the square where the school is. From there, head down towards the Bourdous valley.
Opposite the old bridge you will find marker 266, take the GR52A (white and red markers). You will find a board which explains the development of the landscape shaped by humans. The track then zigzags up among the whitebeams and the common box, regularly cutting across a forest path.
Before you arrive at Serre, the view opens out, allowing you to admire Roche Grande and the Cime de Pal, two peaks of more than 2600m in altitude which tower over the black marlstone of the Bourdous Valley, a brook which is regularly affected by torrential downpours.
At marker 267, join the path which continues to the left, going past a gate which prevents motorised vehicles from using it. When the path forks, head to the left again.
The path, which runs along the mountainside, gradually heads deeper and deeper into a pine forest. During this section of the hike, a few gaps in the foliage allow you to admire the erosion process in the Bourdous Valley.
Where the valley joins the larger Morière, there are information boards to help you understand the uses of dead wood, which is host to a rare range of biodiversity and an important part of local heritage.
Follow the same route for the return journey.