Aiguille path

On the slope overlooking the town of Buis-les-Baronnies many olive groves are spread. There are small stone sheds, historically built to house the material needed for crops sometimes far from farms. Abandoned following the 1956 freeze that destroyed much of the trees, the olive groves have returned to service thanks to the creation of a Appelation of Controlled Origin in 1994.

Along the Aiguille path and throughout the walk, a plant companion with many needles will follow you: The Juniper Cade! The cade is this shrub with evergreen foliage whose smallgreen needles have 2 fine white lines distinguishing them from those of the common juniper (1 single white line). Its berries, of violet colour to red, identify easily: their underside has three linesof 120 ° each and converging at a central point.

The rock of Aiguille is equipped for the practice of sport climbing since the 1990s. Its southern face is equipped with about fifty tracks, some of which, in two lengths, allow climbers to climb the 60 meters high of this cliff and climb to the top of the Aiguille, from whom the altitude is 641 m from the sea. The southern orientation of this wall makes it a popular climbing site for inter-season but also on beautiful winter days.

The Aphyllante of Montpellier (or Barjavou) is a typical plant typical of the Mediterranean scrubland. Its name, in Greek, designate it as a flower without leaves (a = private, phullon = leave, anthos = flower: flower without leaf); In fact it has the appearance of numerous stems pushing in clumps, at the end of which come out of the blue flowers from May to August. Despite its apparent absence of leaves, it constitutes an important resource of pasture for sheep flocks, particularly in winter.

The southern slope of the Montlaud Mountain is a typical example of the agricultural land of the Baronnies. Under the limestone cliff compact, the slope gradually softens to the foot. On the scree of the lower half are installed the orchards. The top was once grazed, but the forest of pubescent oaks and Aleppo pines takes its place there. The valley bottoms, more fresh and exposed to freezing are reserved to the plum or to cognaciers, which are more resistant to the cold.

From the Promontory (711m) overlooking the Ouvèze, The Ubrieux castle dominated the natural lock of the Gorges of Ubrieux. This stronghold, built in 1240, was one of the keys of the defense system of Boxwood, then capital of the Barony of Mévouillon. The strategic position of this fort was partly on its perched position but also on the fact that it was on the edge of anotherBaronnie : The one of Montauban. It remains today only the base of the fortifications of the fort, destroyed in 1590.

We find it as well in north face as south face in the Baronnies provençales: it's the Sylvester Pine. Typical tree of the Mediterranean mountains, it presents a good resistance in dry period and under cold temperatures. It is easily identified with the red colour that its bark takes on the small branches and on the upper third of its trunk. Some Sylvester pine particularly exposed to the wind take tortured forms, sometimes resembling to the bonsai.

The ruins of this jastestify to the presence around a moor pasturein the 18th century. The word jas, derived from "jacere" meaning "lying" in Latin, refers to these small sheepfolds where the shepherd led his flock to spend the night. The Jas du Blanc was a good representative of these rustic buildings, with a unique sloping roof and walls pierced by small openings to keep the freshness of the stones in summer and the heat of the animals in winter.

The spur of the Aiguille is made up of late Jurassiclimestone Despite the compactness of this rock, the cycles of freezing and thawing have overcome some parts of the cliff: Large blocks of rock strewn over the wall in the south face. The land at the base of the cliffs is composed of softer sedimentary rocks, alternating limestone and marl-limestone beds. These marls are particularly well observed when passing through the Bourges ravine.