サンポンのおすすめウォーキング＆ハイキングルート

Saint-Pons was one of the oldest and most important strongholds of the Barony of Aps. Located at the foot of the Coiron, the village was fortified from the 14th century. One can still imagine, depending on the shape of the town, the location of the defensive wall. It is possible to park on the street to go hiking.

The chapel, nestled against a neck, was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century to fight against Phylloxera. The volcanic plateau of Coiron is an ancient massif since the lavas have been dated between 6 and 8 million years approximately. Strombolian cones have been seriously damaged by erosion. Some have been completely destroyed and we can only observe today the lower part of the chimney, in the form of large lava pellets, the necks or veins sometimes a kilometer long, the dykes.

The Coiron plateau presents a typical landscape of natural meadows in bocage, maintained by breeders producing meat of recognized quality.

The volcanic activity of Coiron has developed at the level of two types of buildings: Strombolian volcanoes and explosion craters called maars. The volcanic plateau of Coiron is an ancient massif since the lavas have been dated between 6 and 8 million years approximately. Strombolian cones have been seriously damaged by erosion. Some have been completely destroyed and today we can only observe the lower part of the chimney, in the form of large lava pellets, the necks (Sceautres, Roche Chérie...), or veins sometimes a kilometer long , the dykes. The basalt flows have a particular structure due to their cooling: the lower part is cut into prisms or organs.

Difficult climb

The Gallo-Roman theater was built towards the end of the 1st century BC, and developed throughout the 1st century before being abandoned at the end of the 2nd century.

The Balmes de Montbrun are medieval troglodyte caves and dwellings. The term "Balme" means cave in Occitania. The site overlooks an ancient volcano that was active around 8 million years ago. Interestingly, the last active volcano in the region died only 12 thousand years ago.

I went there going down in gravel with 35 tires, but it should be avoided because there is too much gravel