La Bastide: Village History and Hiking at Mont Lachens

La Bastide lies at the foot of Mont Lachens and combines mountain scenery with a village landscape shaped by two districts and historic buildings. For orientation, there are two hikes, each with a different starting point and landscape: “Le tour du Brouis” and the route to the Sommet de Lachens. In the village, the Sainte-Madeleine church and the Fontaine-lavoir du bas tell stories of architecture and history. Together, these features give a tangible picture of the place, without conflating the hikes with village life.

Hiking on Brouis

“Le tour du Brouis” begins and ends at Col de Clavel, between La Bastide and La Martre. From the village of La Bastide, the starting point is 2 km away via the D21 towards Logis du Pin. This distance describes the route from the village to the starting point, not the length of the hike. The route takes in Brouis mountain, with its old, remarkable forests and secluded clearings. Open landscapes and views of the surrounding peaks alternate along the way. This hike therefore combines stretches of forest with more open scenery; its stated starting point is outside the village at Col de Clavel.

Route to the Sommet de Lachens

The “LA BASTIDE – Sommet de Lachens” hike starts at the church square. It first follows the GR®49, marked in white and red, to the upper edge of the village. At the end of the paved section, the trail is 300 m from the starting point. The route leads to an orientation table at 1,685 m and ends at a summit directly opposite the 1,715 m-high highest point of Mont Lachens. La Bastide lies at the foot of this mountain, whose highest summit is considered the highest in the Var.

The two hikes differ in the landscapes and landmarks described: on Brouis, forests, clearings and open views alternate; the route to the Sommet de Lachens leads to an orientation table at high altitude and ends at a summit opposite the highest point of Mont Lachens. Their starting points are also different: Col de Clavel for “Le tour du Brouis” and the church square for the route to the Sommet de Lachens.

Village layout and the Sainte-Madeleine church

La Bastide consists of a lower and an upper village, separated by the D21. The Sainte-Madeleine church stands in the village centre near the former castle, now used as the town hall. It sits on a hilltop, making it both part of the village landscape and a prominent historic building. The present-day church was probably built in 1676; a reference in the pastoral visitation records of 9 and 10 October 1703 supports this date.

Its architecture can also be described through specific features: Sainte-Madeleine has a single nave with groin vaulting, a flat-ended choir and a gilded altarpiece on the high altar. These details are quite distinct from the history of the former settlement: the first documentary references to the “bourg castral de la Bastide d’Esclapon,” also called “castrum de Bastida,” date from 1232 to 1244 and from 1235. A look at La Bastide thus brings together the medieval names of the settlement, the building history of the present-day church and its surviving architectural details.

The Fontaine-lavoir du bas

Another building with distinctive details is the Fontaine-lavoir du bas. The covered washhouse has three basins for rinsing, washing and cleaning particularly heavily soiled laundry. It also has an oval basin carved from a single block of stone. The structure was restored in 1926. Alongside the church, the washhouse reveals another side of the built heritage: here, the focus is on the shape of the basin, the covered structure and the different washing functions. Together with the two village districts and the church’s location, it offers a second way into the history of the place, distinct from the church building.

Discover more destinations: Fox-Amphoux, Vidauban, Comps-Sur-Artuby, Le Castellet, Esparron, Forcalqueiret, Besse-Sur-Issole, Pignans.

Return to the main travel overview: Var.