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 Parc naturel régional du Verdon (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 (sources that diverge)
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 according to local historiography — although the excavations carried out in 2017 found no medieval occupation there earlier than the 12th century. The hilltop village then emptied in favour of the plain: it was completely depopulated by 1458, according to the heritage inventory. In 1483, Louis XI had the castle razed.
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, Parc naturel régional du Verdon (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.