Few tourists know them, these French cliffs are worthy of Colorado

This geological oddity stands somewhere in France and few people know about it.

France is full of sublime sites worthy of Colorado. Who hasn't already had one? heard about the Colorado Provençal, an exceptional site of 30 hectares located in in the Luberon massif which offers the opportunity to admire an ancient ocher quarry with a thousand orange hues and majestic cliffs ? & nbsp;Everyone already has heard about the  Sentier des Ocres à Roussillon or the Canyon de Rustrel… You thought you had done the trick ? And yet, there is another site in the Provence-Alpes-C&ocirc region ;te d'Azur which has the air of a most exotic desert.

A spectacular alignment of multi-millennial cliffs is within reach. discover in the Durance valley. By taking the A51 motorway between Manosque and Sisteron in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, motorists can delight in an unexpected spectacle: a ;very impressive stone massif stands proudly towards the sky ` one hundred meters high, overlooking a pretty little village. Little known to vacationers, Les Pénitents, this mass of sedimentary rocks sculpted by erosion that scientists call puddingue, s'& spread out almost 2.5 kilometers above the village of Mées surrounded nearly 80,000 olive trees. 

The history of the Pénitents des Mées is associated with a legend more than 1,000 years old. In the olive-growing commune of Les Mées, it is said that these conical cliffs represent an enfilade of hooded monks from the Montagne de Lure, who would have ;eacute;té petrified by Saint Donatus because they would have succumbed to death. to the charms of young Moorish women at the time of the Saracen invasions around the year 800. The French writer Jean Giono, originally from Manosque, wrote that "their legend crystallized in rock whispers &e;trangely with the wind".

The Pénitents des Mées site is very popular. hikers who, departing from the village of Mées, will take the P&nitents circuit of 4 kilometers (allow 2  hours of walking), & ;nbsp;who takes è the meeting of the Saint-Roch chapel and its belvedere and allows the discovery, & cliffside, these curious geological formations with a view far and wide. take your breath away on the Durance river.

The Chemin de la colle, a route of 14 kilometers (allow nearly 4 hours of walking), allows you to explore the surrounding area. him the discovery of the geographical particularities of the "Haute Montagne", places like the Plateau de Valensole, the agricultural activities and exceptional panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges of Ecrins, Lubéron, Sainte-Victoire or even Mont Ventoux. We will not miss Obviously not the visit to the village of M&eacutees with its pretty streets and old exposed stone houses, which houses the Saint-Roch chapel, the ' Notre-Dame de l'Olivier church or the fountain of the Republic and offers a marked route. of 3.6 kilometers, the Chemin de l'Olivier,   the discovery of these centuries-old olive trees, punctuated by numerous oil mills. Enjoy your visit!