Pause Trail

Perched on a rocky spur at an altitude of 780 meters, the village of Poët-Sigillat is the highest in the Ennuye valley. From its surroundings, it offers a remarkable panorama up to Mont-Ventoux. The village does not have fortifications, but its high and contiguous houses served as ramparts and extended the slender silhouette of Devès, on which the Poët-Sigillat is built.

On this soft peak facing south, you can see a long strip of stacked stones. It is called a clapas: A heap of stones created by men, while these lands were still used as pastures and crops. The peasants would remove the stones from their plots on this greenhouse (elongated hill) to make the work of the land easier and more profitable. These clapas also made it possible to determine the limits of the various plots and properties.

Visibles depuis la crête, de l'autre côté du vallon de la Pause, les champs de lavandins s'étendent sur le versant adret de la vallée. Jusqu'à 600 m d'altitude, c'est principalement le lavandin qui est cultivé, croisement de la Lavande Aspic (Lavandula latifolia) que l'on trouve dans les vallées et de la lavande fine qui ne pousse qu'en altitude. Il pousse en large plants homogènes, avec une fleur sur chaque brin. Sa culture sert principalement à la production d'huile essentielle ou d'hydrolats.

This part of the Pause ravine is composed of a laminate of limestone strata and marly strata which the small stream laid out due to erosion. Formed 113 million years ago, these sedimentary layers are now perched at an altitude of some 580 meters by the folding of the Alpine arc. Since calcareous layers are more resistant to erosion than marl layers, it is logical that a layer of limestone covers the top of this ravine.

Le mot « Poët », qui vient du latin Podium, est souvent associé aux villages situés sur des promontoires rocheux, comme c’est le cas ici pour le Poët-Sigillat sur sa pointe de calcaire, mais aussi pour les trois autres « Poët » que compte le département de la Drôme, dont le Poët-en-Percip, à quelques kilomètres plus au sud.

The village of Poët-Sigillat has two religious buildings: The parish church of Saint-Martin, which can be visited, and the Saint-Bernard chapel. Although this chapel of the 17th century is now private, you can still admire its bell tower, which its builders perched on an entrance gate of the old village in 1666. Another feature of this building: The bell that the building houses belongs to the inhabitants of Poët-Sigillat, while the walls are now owned by a private individual.