Dentelles de Montmirail

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Dentelles de Montmirail, here Dentelles Sarrasine

The dentelles de Montmirail are a multiple small, parallel, and all oriented from southwest to northeast ridges rocks in the south of France in the department of Vaucluse, south of the town of Vaison -la -Romaine and west of the much higher Mont Ventoux. Northwest of the dentelles the Ouvèze flows in a wide arc in the Rhône.

Dentelles translates peaks (as in crochet or bobbin lace ) and alludes to the sharp and pointed, often broken by rocks windows, shape of numerous small peaks at. Montmirail comes from the Latin mons mirabilis.

The origin of these mountains is a limestone layer that was pressed at the time of the Jura in almost vertical position and formed in the subsequent period of erosion.

The chain sequence begins in the southwest of the Grand Montmirail ( 555 m), then separated by the Col d' Alsau, follow the dentelles Sarrasine with the Rocher du Turc ( 627 m), and again separated by the Col du Cayron ( 396 m), Le Cayron ( 529 m) and Les Trois Yeux ( 539 m). Completed the dentelles de Montmirail in the North East by its highest peak, the Crête de Saint- Amand with a height of 730 m. The over just 8 km extending dentelles de Montmirail are equally popular with hikers and rock climbers. There are over 600 routes mainly in the upper levels of difficulty to 8c ( UIAA X / XI ) and with lengths up to 90 meters. There are signposted walking and cycling.

At the foot of the dentelles located on the west side of the Rhône towards the famous wine villages Séguret, Sablet, Gigondas, Beaumes -de -Venise and Vacqueyras. South of the dentelles de Montmirail in the municipality of Beaumes -de -Venise are the prehistoric Grottes d' Ambrosi, and the Romanesque chapel of Notre - Dame d' Aubune.