Topoguide from the "Great hiking" collection. From Arles to Borgo San Dalmazzo (Italy), follow the GR ® 69 in the footsteps of sheep transhumance. More than 15 days of hiking.
The GR® 69 route connects the Provençal plains to the Alpine valleys of Piedmont, following in the footsteps of the sheep herds that practiced the great summer transhumance.
15 days of walking through a rich Franco-Italian natural environment: Alpilles regional natural park, Sainte-Victoire mountain, Valensole plateau, Demontzey forest park.
After crossing the Col de Larche on the Italian border, hikers can make a restful stop at the eco-museum of pastoralism.
Travel through the most emblematic landscapes of Provence and the Alps, from the Camargue delta and the Crau steppe to the mountain pastures. Most of these spaces, now protected, were shaped by the grazing of herds, under the guidance of shepherds.
Beyond following the historic routes, La Routo, from the Occitan "far la routo" i.e. "to transhume" is a Franco-Italian project whose objective is the animation of a cross-border network linking the plain of the Crau to the Stura valley in order to enhance the pastoral life, mountain pastures and sheep farming present in the area.
Discover the heritage linked to transhumant livestock farming in Provence and the Alps: drailles and carraires, fountains-watering troughs, raised stones, huts and sheepfolds as well as the know-how of the shepherds in the museums, ecomuseums and associated thematic houses.
