Colorado tour by mountain bike

Classified site since 2002, the ochres of Apt are one of the largest deposits in the world. With a significant number of visitors and risks of degradation, the Massif des Ocres raises lots of questions. In 2010, working in tandem with local actors, an "Opération Grand Site" (sustainable Tourism project) was launched to implement a development project, good management and preservation of natural and landscape heritage but also cultural heritage in the hope of becoming a "Grand Site de France".

The ochre sands result from a deep chemical modification of green marine sands. About 100 million years ago, green sands emerged and were altered under a hot and humid climate which transformed into, amongst others, ochre sands. It is from these sands extracted in quarries that ochre is made. Warning, mountain biking in the heart of the Provençal Colorado in Rustrel is forbidden, as is the sampling of ochre sands in natural environment.

Le Colorado provençal est un ancien site d’exploitation de l’ocre à ciel ouvert, actif aux XIXe et XXe s. Le premier coup de pioche y fut donné en 1871, et le dernier lavage d’ocre réalisé en 1993 par Roger Arnaud.Classé au titre des Monuments naturels à caractère historique, ce site privé offre aujourd’hui deux circuits pédestres balisés, accompagnés d’une application mobile dédiée. Ils permettent de découvrir d’anciennes carrières aux spectaculaires nuances de couleur, ainsi que quelques vestiges de l’industrie ocrière.L’accès est payant et soumis à réservation en haute saison. Veuillez consulter les conditions d’entrée et les consignes de visite avant votre venue.

The Provençal Colorado is an old ochre operating quarry which dates back to the 19th century. The distinctive feature of the extraction is the use of water which served for washing the excavated faces. The sands were then dissolved and rolled down the slopes to the settling ponds. The remains from working the ochre are still found today on the site as an aqueduct, a network of pipes, pumping machines, drying ponds ...

Mainly located along the Doa, an alluvial forest of softwood (like th poplar) has settled in connection with the layer of the river. They play many biological roles, namely, maintaining the banks, the self-purification of water, a reservoir and an ecological corridor for many species. They are a breeding and feeding hub for many species of birds and insects.

The laurel leaved Rockrose (Cistus laurifolius) is an easily identifiable shrub with its large evergreen, lanceolate, and dark green leaves leaves, and beautiful white flowers in spring. You may even recognize them with your eyes closed since its light, sweet perfume spreads in its immediate environment. Strictly dependent on acid soils, it is rather localized in our region, but is fairly common in the ocher massif where it can be found on the borders and clearings of woodlands.

Below is the old mining area Barriès (private - guided tour only). From washing, then decanting in large basins, to drying, crushing, and baking, a large scale of natural pigment was made, with a variety of colors. Launched in the 18th century, the industrial process for making ochre pigment reaches its high point in the 1920s. Today, the Société des Ocres de France still operates a quarry in Gargas and produces 1200 tons of ochre per year.

In the 80s, the cliffs just above Rustrel housed a famous couple of Egyptian vultures. Smaller than European vultures, this scavenger and detritivorous animal is also a long-haul flight expert! In 1998, thanks to tracking markers, school children were able to follow their migration to Sahelian Africa. The couple disappeared from our skies for a few years and their young descendants have not taken over. There are a hundred of couples in France.

Adonis, Cornflower, Love-in-a-mist... The Luberon is one of two regions of France richest in annual garden flowering plants, called "Harvest companions". Unfortunately, highly threatened in France, these plants depend completely on traditional farming for survival, as it is still done here by farmers that use little or no herbicides on their fields. The work of these farmers is essential for the preservation of a rich and fertile soil in the Luberon.

In the Provençal Colorado, Francis Morenas was the first one to mark hiking routes in 1953. True pioneer of the southern GR, often called a "fada" (an informal term used to say someone is a bit nuts, crazy) by the locals, with his billhook and his pickaxe, he prepared over 1500km of trails between Ventoux, Monts-de-Vaucluse and Luberon. Fascinated, he loved above all sharing his pleasure for the outdoors with others. Until his last breath, he continued to maintain his footsteps, which have now more or less disappeared.

En Luberon, l’eau a toujours été une ressource rare. Les puits, lavoirs, bassins ou encore fontaines s’imposent comme témoin des aménagements pour faire jaillir cette eau si précieuse. Tout ce patrimoine exprime l'effort et le génie paysan pour répondre aux besoins des femmes et des hommes, des bêtes et des cultures. Ici, la fontaine bassin des Jean-Jean, aujourd'hui encore en eau une grande partie de l'année, apporte fraîcheur et or bleu d'appoint (eau non contrôlée).

Le mot ''puy'', hérité du latin podium (élévation), désigne les collines, coteaux, buttes ou mamelons. La colline des Puys située au sud-ouest de la route, autrement dit la "colline des collines", tire son nom des reliefs qui la composent comme le Puy et le Puy Marquis. Au sud-est, sur l'autre rive de La Doa, se nichent le Pié Long, le Piémont et le Pié de Marc, déformation du Pié de Mars, pour podium Martis, un sommet dédié au dieu romain de la guerre.

The maintenance and development of woodlands and deciduous hedges is very important for bats. These areas serve as their hunting grounds and above all, as reference points. Some species are able to make a 5km detour to reach two places a kilometre apart only because they prefer to follow a straight line of hedges rather than to cross an open space.

This wetland is rooted in the ochre activity of the site and served to store the water used for washing the ochre. This is one of the best preserved ponds of the Luberon Regional Nature Park which is a part of the known breeding sites of Western Spadefoot (or Spanish Spadefoot Toad). This rare and vulnerable species in France is considered near threatened globally. With "spades" in its hind feet, it hides in the sand until it rains!

Like a siliceous island in the middle of a limestone ocean, the hill of La Bruyère (listed and labelled as an environmentally sensitive area) contains a flock of siliceous (silica-loving), acid-loving (likes acid soils) and psammophile (preferring sand) plants. You can come across many species of amphibians (like the Western Spadefoot), birds (such as the European Bee-eater) and bats (like the Greater or the Lesser Horseshoe Bat, the Common Bent-wing Bat).

17 espèces protégées sur les 34 identifiées en France, comme le Grand ou le Petit rhinolophe, le Minioptère de Schreibers, sont présentes sur le site classé et l’Espace Naturel Sensible de la colline de la Bruyère. Les chauves-souris sont des mammifères volants qui allaitent chaque année un seul petit et qui se nourrissent d’insectes la nuit. La plus petite chauve-souris, extraordinaire technologie de 4 gr, peut manger jusqu’à 3000 moustiques par nuit ! Leur conservation est primordiale pour l’équilibre de la biodiversité, et pour la transmission de ce patrimoine biologique à nos enfants.

Sur la colline de La Bruyère, il y a une grande diversité de cavités souterraines, notamment des anciennes mines d’extraction d'ocres. Ces lieux, de températures et d’humidité stables, offrent un gîte indispensable aux chauves-souris à leur l’léthargie hivernale (octobre à mars). Durant cette période de vie ralentie, un simple même très court dérangement dans les galeries ou le passage répété juste devant les entrées de cavités, engendre le processus de réveil. Ce réveil imprévu très stressant leur fait consommer jusqu’à 80% de leur réserve et entraine leur mort quasi certaine. Il est donc impératif, de ne jamais pénétrer dans les cavités. Et ce d’autant plus que c’est dangereux en raison des risques d’effondrements !

As holed as cheese, the hill of La Bruyère is pierced with ancient galleries dug by hand. It was an important place for the extraction of ochre. Then, a number of them were transformed into mushroom growing areas. Today, there is no longer human activity. Some have become refuges for large colonies of bats. It is strictly forbidden to enter the galleries (private property), due to frequent landslides and to avoid dramatic disturbance of bats.

The hill of La Bruyère hosts the largest transit site of Common Bent-wing Bats in the Luberon. This bat feeds on moths. Very sociable, it settles in clusters in ochre galleries. Its protection is primarily based on tranquillity, especially since the closing of holes with grids is harmful to the Common Bent-wing Bat, because its flight, hard to manoeuvre, does not allow it to move easily between the bars.

A small island in the middle of the limestone mountains of Luberon and the Monts-de-Vaucluse, the ochres are home to species of trees that do not grow in limestone. Thus, the chestnut enjoys this ground as it enjoys the sandy soil in the Var department further to the south.

A true little fur ball, this bat weighs only 2 to 5g. The species has a distinctive horseshoe-shaped nose. When roosting and hibernating, the Lesser Horseshoe Bats hang free and wrap their wings completely around their bodies, resembling a pear hanging free. In winter, it occupies ochre galleries. In summer, the females use the huts as maternity wards. Be careful not to disturb them! It is strictly forbidden to enter the galleries and huts (private property), due to frequent landslides and to avoid dramatic disturbance of bats.

C'est à partir de la fin du XIXe s. que l'extraction de l’ocre, le traitement et la commercialisation, prennent un essor considérable, notamment par la construction du chemin de fer sur le Pays d'Apt. En 1900, on dénombre sur le bassin d’Apt 17 mines souterraines et 32 carrières à ciel ouvert, représentant 14 600 tonnes d'ocres. Ici, on peut apercevoir les ruines d’une station de pompage d’eau, indispensable pour faire s'écouler depuis le malaxeur, le sable dans les batardeaux, puis l'ocre, plus léger, jusqu’aux  bassins de décantation (ruines potentiellement instables - ne pas pénétrer ni s’approcher trop prêt).

In the fields nearby, huts were built to provide shelter and storage. Today abandoned or restored, they are privileged and coveted places by female bats. A true maternity ward, these huts, heated by the sun, are suitable places for birthing and nursing the young.It is strictly forbidden to enter the huts (private property) to avoid dramatic disturbance of bats.  

The Grande Traversée VTT of Vaucluse is 388km of fun and a personalised course! Starting with the challenging trails of Mont Ventoux, passing through the limestone ridges of the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range, you will go through a remarkable natural area to reach the Gorges de la Nesque. Then, the race continues through the Luberon Regional Nature Park, where the dry stone structure heritage, the impressive cliffs and trails in the ochre will delight mountain bikers.

This route, away from the Calavon, flowing between the massifs of the Monts de Vaucluse to the north and Luberon to south, bypasses the Ocres de Rustrel massif. These colourful cliffs clearly stand out of the wooded hills of this agricultural valley dominated by vineyards. Resulting from a particular geological formation and past human exploitation, this richly coloured excavated face is threatened by forest takeover.