Mourre de Cairas

13 points of interest

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  Patrimony and history

  The village of Oppède

  The old village was built on a rocky outcrop at the foot of a castle from the Middle Ages now in ruins. Its Renaissance houses, some also ruined and its cobbled streets give it a timeless bucolic atmosphere. In the 19th century, seeking more land suitable for cultivation, the inhabitants settled in the plain little by little, where the district of Poulivets was developed, nowadays the new village centre.

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  Flora

  The landscaped garden of Sainte-Cécile

  Take the time to visit to the north side of the village, the landscaped garden of Saint-Cécile's terraces.! These fifteen dry stone terraces gather more than forty species of trees and shrubs, typical of the country. Shaped like an amphitheatre, it is a real collection of the Luberon jewels over 1.6ha.

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  Patrimony and history

  The covered market

  As evidenced by the inscription in one of the stone pillars, this covered market was built in 1772. Located at Place de la Croix and against the rampart, it hosted the meetings of the villagers including fairs. Simple, with an elongated lean-to roof, the care and precision brought to moulded capitals of the pillars is quite noticeable. It was restored in 1991 while missing three spans.

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  Patrimony and history

  Afar, Ménerbes

  Ménerbes, the hillside village you can see in the distance, is worth seeing. On its terraces, the warm atmosphere and the Maison de la Truffe et du Vin (truffles and wine restaurant) is open to experienced gastronomes as those looking to experience some local specialities. You can also see in its plain the vineyards and holm or white oaks that hide the famous black diamond (truffle) at their feet.

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  Geology

  The Cuestas Oppède

  The north side of the Petit Luberon is formed of white limestone called Urgonian. It faces, to the north, a calcareous molasse bar gently sloping, overlooking a steep slope bank. This morphology is called "cuesta" by geologists. Exploited since antiquity, the molasse is always extracted in Oppède and Ménerbes, in open quarries.

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  Flora

  The forest, the source of life!

  On the park's territory, the forest occupies 90% of the surface of natural areas. To preserve the balance of nature, biodiversity, cultural heritage and landscape in these forest ecosystems, it is necessary to apply a management that promotes several strata of vegetation, favourable to bats and birds. This forest management must focus on diversification of age classes of trees and species diversity (holm and pubescent oak, pine).

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  Fauna

  The Common wall lizard or the Spanish psammodromus?

  Strolling through these paths, you can come across a look-alike of the common wall Lizard, tumbling down a bush.. Also brown, the Spanish psammodromus strangely resembles its cousin but when you look closer, it has four dark streaks with black spots on its back. Extremely fast, it likes to hide under dead leaves or sand and screeches when its caught.

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  Geology

  Massif of the Petit Luberon

  You are here on the massif of the Petit Luberon which forms an anticline (arch-shaped fold) oriented east-west, between the plain of Cavaillon and the Lourmarin valley. The north side overlooking the Coulon-Calavon Valley and its southern side, the Durance valley, the mythical river of Provence. To the west, on the hills of Bonnieux, the Cedar forest covers the mountains.

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  Elevage et pastoralisme

  Steppe grasslands

  The lawns of the peaks of the Petit Luberon are open areas rich in biodiversity. The large herbaceous vegetation gives this space an ancestral pastoral calling. The combined action of man and nature provides exceptional biological diversity where there are endemic plant species, reptiles of all kinds or mammals like the Mediterranean pine vole. These grasslands are also hunting areas for large raptors.

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  Flora

  The cedars in the Petit Luberon

  The first cedars were implanted in 1862 with seeds from the Algerian Atlas. Planted by some committed foresters, they were intended to reforest the summit of the Petit Luberon. The cedars of 1st generation found on the Massif des Cèdres near Bonnieux are now 150 years old. The majestic cedars that you can admire in the area are descendants from natural colonization and form the forest today.

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  Fauna

  The Spiked Magician

  The Spiked magician (Saga pedo) is the largest bush cricket in France and among the largest insects. It may indeed measure up to 11cm. Very discreet, it enjoys the dry grassland and scrubland of southern France that we see here. Rather a rare fact, there is no male of this species. The females reproduce with parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) and the offsprings of each female are therefore clones.

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  Patrimony and history

  Here, it's all about climbing!

  To the right, above the path, lies a small rock climbing schoolpopular with climbers from all around the country. Itcontains about forty routes with difficulty levels ranging from 3a to 7b, fitted on limestone slabs over 16m. Located at the limit of the biotope protection, it is the only site open to climbers on the Petit Luberon. All the other cliffs are closed to climbing practices in order to preserve the tranquillity of raptors.

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  Fauna

  Old forests and tree sheds

  Here the atmosphere is special, and the ecological wealth is striking. A true social housing moss and fungi, older trees host a multitude of inhabitants; birds, insects, or bats ... In the cracks of branches, holes drilled by woodpeckers or under the ivy, they nest or flush out wood-eating insects (xylophagous). The flora of the understory is also original. These old forests are precious.