The Sentier Notre-Dame du Roc (the Notre-Dame du Roc trail) is the iconic walk of Castellane: from the heart of the village, you climb up to the Notre-Dame du Roc chapel, perched at 903 m on top of the Roc, which towers 184 m above the rooftops. At the top, orientation tables and a full panorama over the Verdon valley and the entrance to the gorges. Allow about 30 minutes of climbing from the town centre — a short outing, but one whose figures vary widely from one source to another. This guide cross-checks and dates them.
Verified on 5 July 2026 with the Castellane-Verdon Tourist Office and the Verdon Regional Nature Park (Chemins des Parcs / Tourisme Alpes-Haute-Provence).
The essentials
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| Distance | 4 km |
| Elevation gain | 190 m |
| Duration | 30 min to 1h30 depending on the starting point and the variant |
| Difficulty | Easy (Tourist Office) / moderate (AllTrails) |
| Type | Out-and-back (loop variants) |
| Start | Centre of the village of Castellane (place de l’église or parking Saint-Michel) |
| Finish | Notre-Dame du Roc chapel (903 m) |
| Rating | 4.7/5 (203 reviews, AllTrails) |
The truth about the numbers (what nobody reconciles)
Depending on the route taken — direct out-and-back, the Tourist Office’s loop, or the long variant — the figures published online range from single to quadruple. Here is what each source gives, and what we use.
| Data point | Value used | Other values seen | Why we settle it this way |
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| Distance | 4 km | 2.7 (AllTrails) · 4.95 (Visorando) · 10.3 (Outdooractive) | The figure on the “Sentier du Roc” sheet of the Tourist Office. The others correspond to different routes: direct out-and-back (2.7 km), the loop variant (4.95 km) or the long “De Castellane au Le Roc” variant (10.3 km). |
| Elevation gain | 190 m | 160 (AllTrails) · 180 (Buena Vista) · 184 (Wikipedia, to be checked) · 328 (Visorando) | 190 m is the Tourist Office’s figure. The 328 m corresponds to Visorando’s long variant; Wikipedia’s 184 m actually refers to the height of the Roc above the village, not the elevation gain of the trail. |
| Date of the chapel | origins in the 12th century | 13th century (voyageavecnous.fr) | The Tourist Office, Routard and Petit Futé place the origins in the 12th century; one isolated source suggests the 13th. Conflict flagged, not hidden. |
The route
The trail starts from the centre of Castellane (place de l’église, the church square, or parking Saint-Michel, the Saint-Michel car park) and climbs towards the summit of the Roc. On the way, it crosses the archaeological site of Petra Castellana, the fortified medieval village, before reaching the Notre-Dame du Roc chapel (903 m) — the Roc towers 184 m above the village. At the summit, orientation tables and a panoramic view over the Verdon valley and the gorges. It is an out-and-back, with loop variants depending on the sheet.
- Start: place de l’église or parking Saint-Michel, in the centre of the village.
- On the way: the Petra Castellana site (medieval village).
- Summit: Notre-Dame du Roc chapel (903 m), orientation tables, panorama.
- Good to know: about 30 minutes of climbing from the town centre; good shoes are recommended (Routard). Parking is plentiful and mostly free in Castellane.
A bit of history
The Roc is the birthplace of Castellane. The town grew through three successive settlements, from the summit down to the plain: the Rupes at the top of the Roc, the Castrum halfway up, and the Burgum on the plain — today’s town.
The hilltop site bears the name Petra Castellana, attested in 965 (in the form Sinaca as early as 813). A castle was built there in 977 by Pons-Arbaud and Aldebert. It would be razed in 1483 on the orders of Louis XI, and the hilltop site, gradually deserted, was abandoned in the middle of the 15th century in favour of the plain.
At the summit, the Notre-Dame du Roc chapel — whose origins go back to the 12th century according to the Tourist Office and Routard — was destroyed and rebuilt several times; it remains a place of pilgrimage. The site as a whole has been listed as a natural site since 1933.
What’s still missing
We’d rather say it plainly: the exact date of the chapel remains to be settled (12th century according to most sources, 13th according to another); and the details of the ramparts and of the pentagonal tower of Petra Castellana are not documented (no dedicated Wikipedia page found). These fields will be completed as soon as a reliable source documents them.
Sources
Data cross-checked and verified on 2026-07-05: Castellane-Verdon Tourist Office (castellane-verdon.com), Castellane town hall, Verdon Regional Nature Park (Chemins des Parcs / Tourisme Alpes-Haute-Provence), Wikipedia (Castellane), AllTrails, Visorando, Outdooractive, Routard, Petit Futé, Buena Vista Rafting, voyageavecnous.fr, voyagepassions.com. Discrepancies kept and resolved above. No invented data: a missing field is flagged as such.