Product Description

A UNIQUE SITE IN EUROPE
Come and discover the Mines de Bruoux in Gargas and go on a trip to the heart of the ochre of the Luberon! Dizzying cliffs with flamboyant colours and a gigantic labyrinth of underground galleries make up a unique and mysterious setting where the work of man mixes with the natural beauty of the Provencal landscape. Visit these ancient quarries, monumental vestiges of the glory years of the ochre industry, and enter a maze of galleries more than 40 km long and 15 m high!

The guides of the Mines de Bruoux will accompany you on an underground route of 650 m where you will approach the geological, historical and industrial riches of this preserved place. Wonder and good humour guaranteed!

THE INDUSTRIAL ADVENTURE

The use of ochre dates back to the Palaeolithic but it was in 1785, in Roussillon, that its exploitation began with Jean-Etienne Astier, who discovered the way to extract the precious ore. However, it was only in 1848 that the exploitation of ochre began in Gargas.

The Mines de Bruoux are a testimony to the industrial epic that will last more than a century and during which the ochreers, with the sweat of their brow, dug galleries with pickaxes, manipulated waggons and extracted the ocher sands...

The landscapes of this corner of Provence were shaped by the hand of man. Without him, the ochre would have remained secret, hidden under the vegetation.

Today, the Société des Ocres de France, based in Apt, operates the last open-air ochre quarry in Europe in Gargas.

 

RESERVATION REQUIRED ONLY AT +33 4 90 06 22 59

SITE OUVERT
du 1er Mars au 31 Octobre 2025
HORAIRES
de 10h00 à 18h00

VISITES GUIDÉES EXCLUSIVEMENT
de 60 minutes, à heures fixes et limitées à 30 personnes
À L’ACCUEIL
Se présenter au plus tard 20 minutes avant la visite
VISITES GUIDÉES

1er Mars – 9 Juillet
23 Août – 31 Octobre 2025

10:30 / 11:30 / 14:30 / 15:30 / 16:30

 

10 Juillet – 22 Août 2025

10:30 / 11:00 / 11:30 / 12:00 Anglais */14:00 / 14:30 / 15:00 / 15:30 / 16:00 / 16:30/ 17:00