Touring the French countryside: Roussillon

Roussillon is a few km east of Gordes and lies within the borders of a French natural regional park.  It is famous for the large ochre deposits found in the clay surrounding the village.  The colors range from yellow and orange to red and they can be seen in the colors of the buildings in Roussillon, as well as in the surrrounding hills.  Because this is a fragile site, the ochre colors are mined carefully for use in arts and crafts. We walked through the town first, then we hiked through the "Sentier des Ocres" (the ochre footpath) that goes up and down through the formations that Rick Steves said reminded him of Bryce Canyon.  Last, we walked through the cemetery on the hill above the ochre path.

In the Roussillon parking lot--wouldn't you love to have one of these?

Roussillon town square - notice the darker colors of the buildings.

More of the Roussillon town square

J overlooking the ochre pits

S heading down the ochre footpath

S's wellies in the ochre dirt

Looking up at an ochre hill.  Someone built a small shelter.

Gma and A pretending to hold up a large formation

Heading up the path

Heading down the path.  We encountered hunters with dogs shooting at a French wild boar (sanglier) right off the path.  We weren't very comfortable with that!

Roussillon cemetery

Roussillon cemetery looking back across the hill to Roussillon

Being silly in the cemetery

Looking out at the countryside around Rousillon

A very interesting sundial near the ochre footpath

Looking back at Roussillon from the trail to the ochre footpath

S & J walking back toward "downtown" Roussillon.  Check out the birds in the sky and the way the locals prune their trees. 

I had to throw this in.  It led to the most efficient public bathroom I've ever been in.  Open door, toilet is on opposite wall at the left.  Sink is next to it.  Move your hands left to right over the sink for soap, water and a blow dry.  Turn around and push the button on the wall.  That flushes the toilet and opens the door!  We won't mention how long it took us to figure out how to flush.