When nature reveals itself to us!
For the nature lovers we are, autumn is a windfall of wonderful opportunities to escape into the fresh air, combining a walk with knowledge thanks to naturalist excursions. Following a guide, you discover things you might sometimes not expect to see (bats, bellowing stags, edible flowers, insects…) and learn to listen to and decipher nature! In light of global warming it is also the opportunity to gain greater awareness about protecting the environment and preserving species.
The “Have we met?” Agenda
These activities are free and organised by the Département de Vaucluse, and enable you to encounter fauna and flora in Vaucluse in the morning, afternoon or sometimes the evening.
And there are a few we really like on the autumn programme:
● Edible wild plants, 1 October
● The hairy beasts in our rivers, 26 October
● The birds in our gardens, 2 November
● Lying in wait for the Eurasian eagle-owl, 5 November
● Going for a walk with your senses in the forest, 13 November
Did you know?
There are 2 Regional Nature Parks in the Vaucluse: the Luberon, created in 1977 (a UNESCO World Geopark since 2015) and Mont-Ventoux, created in 2020 (after UNESCO designated it as a Biosphere Reserve in 1990).
Pierre’s tracks, listening to the bellowing stage with Pierre Peyret
Did you know?
The Vaucluse, from the Luberon to Mont-Ventoux, is home to 9 couples of Egyptian vultures (a hundred are left in France), which have been an endangered species since 2007.
From September to mid-October, this powerful and moving deer love song can be heard resonating in the Ventoux forest. Pierre gives you the opportunity to enjoy this unique experience during a hike that starts in the early night-time. It’s a real game of hide and seek that the deer excel at. Sometimes, stags and does let you catch a glimpse of them, sometimes they stay lying low in the heart of the forest of the Provence Giant. Whatever happens, it’s a hike that you return from with an earful of memories!
Passion Nature, naturalist hikes with Daniel Villanova and Ilka
In autumn, set out with an inseparable duo (Ilka is an adorable Jack Russell, Daniel’s travel buddy that he takes everywhere) to discover flowers and plants that heal us, in the tracks of wild animals or to encounter insects.
Find out more (fr)
Did you know?
Acis fabrei is a perennial plant with thin leaves and white flowers oriented towards the ground that is an endemic species to Mont-Ventoux and the Vaucluse Mountains that has been protected since 1994.
To round out your nature discovery, we have other ideas for easy hikes and walks you can do without a guide…
Le saviez-vous ?
In Sérignan-du-Comtat, the Naturoptère is an educational centre dedicated to nature and the environment, and the Harmas Jean-Henri Fabre Natural History Museum and its garden, are must-visit places for all those who want to understand nature to protect it better.
As you explore the twenty sensitive natural areas from the Vaucluse Mountains at the foot of the Ventoux, to the North of the Ventoux, you wander over Piécaud hill at Caumont-sur-Durance, Belle-Île at Aubignan, the La Bruyère ochres at Villars…
The Font Margot hike in the tracks of wild animals (we did it in winter, but it’s really worth doing it in autumn to see the dazzling colours of the Ventoux forest!). You set out from the Belvédère du Cerf (a stunning steel sculpture) with a route to the sublime viewpoint. Do you know how to pick up the tracks of a wild boar, fox or hare…?
The botanical paths in the Vaucluse, where you come across aromatic and medicinal plants, and those that were used as a pigment or dye (you look at them but don’t pick them).
