Hiking - VILLARS - La Bruyère Hill

"La Bruyère Hill is a geological curiosity, made up of ochres and Cretaceous sandstone, where a very specific and diverse flora has been able to thrive. The vegetation here consists of a holm oak forest combined with Scots pine and typical heathland species: common heather, laurel-leaved rockrose, and broom heather. In places, the landscape looks more like a heathland than Provence, with its heathers, rockroses, and of course the heather that gives the hill its name." Laurent Michel, botanist at the Luberon Regional Natural Park.

• La Bruyère Hill is a listed site and has been designated a Sensitive Natural Area (Espace Naturel Sensible - ENS). This siliceous island in the middle of a limestone ocean is an exceptional area. Please respect it.


• Stay on the waymarked paths and trails; the La Bruyère site is very sensitive to erosion, trampling, and disturbance of species.


• Do not cross or trample the area around the Trou des Américains pond, to protect the amphibians, including the famous Western spadefoot toad (Pélobate cultripède), a rare and vulnerable species in France.


• Do not enter the ochre caves (former quarries) under any circumstances, due to frequent rockfalls and to avoid any serious disturbance to bats.


• Do not enter or get too close to the ruins and pumping systems (risk of collapse!), nor the ochre cliffs (the undersides of the quarry faces can be severely eroded!).


• Refrain from taking anything (plants, ochre).


• Ensure your dog is always visible and under your control, or else keep it on a lead.


• FIRE RISK. Fire is the enemy of the forest… and the hiker! Do not smoke or light fires in the forest; it is forbidden at all times of the year! And during the summer, before setting out, be sure to check the access conditions and regulations for forest areas.