In Ongles, traces of the village’s history meet circular routes with different levels of difficulty. When planning your stay, you can choose between walks to historic sites, longer hikes and a mountain bike route through the landscape.

Vière and the history of Ongles

Vière d’Ongles was designated a protected area in 2013 under French environmental law. Since 2021, a restored promenade has led along historic streets through the entire village of Vière. As visiting conditions can change, check the latest information before your visit.

Other sites offer different historical points of interest: the origins of the Site de Vière date back to protohistoric times. In Ongles, the Church of Saint-Marc features decoration in the seven-sided choir, painted in 1855. In the hamlet of Les Verdets, there is a former château dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Hiking: comparing two circular routes

The Le Rocher d’Ongles circular hike starts at the Rocher d’Ongles car park. It is 8 km long, has 120 m of elevation gain and takes about three hours. It is marked first with yellow PR markings and then with red-and-yellow GR markings. The route passes through six hamlets around Ongles, as well as fields and small forests.

The Sentier de Seigne is a moderately difficult 12 km circular hike that starts in Ongles. That makes it four kilometres longer than Le Rocher d’Ongles. Its landscape alternates between forests, clearings, meadows and hamlets in the rural hinterland of the Luberon massif around Ongles. Along the way, near the Château d’Ongles, you’ll find mascarons—fantastically designed sculpted masks—as well as a 17th-century church.

Walks to historic sites

The family-friendly Chemin de Vière leads from the village of Ongles to the ruins of the Romanesque Church of Saint-Barthélémy and an abandoned medieval village. For a walk focused on history, the route therefore links two specific destinations: the remains of a church building and those of a former village.

The Chemin de Mémoires offers a different focus. It includes audio accounts of local history, geology, life in the past and its inhabitants. Before setting out, check the latest local conditions so that your plans suit the state of the trail.

Mountain biking through the hamlets

La balade des Hameaux d’Ongles is a mountain bike route through lavender fields, pastures and typical hamlets. For almost the entire route, it offers views of the summit of the Lure mountain range. This makes it different from the circular hikes: rather than choosing a marked walking route by its distance or duration, the focus here is on riding through the landscapes and hamlets mentioned above. Conditions on this route can also change; check the latest trail conditions before setting off.

For the overview of the wider region: Alpes-De-Haute-Provence.