Fontaine de Vaucluse is located 17 kilometers of Pernes les fontaines. You can go there by bike (VTT or VTC) along the canal of Carpentras. If you are sporty if not from Pernes, follow the itinerary L’isle sur la Sorgue Then Fontaines de Vaucluse by the D25.
This picturesque site lies in a deep valley with a landscape dotted with caves and valleys.
The main visit in the village is at the bottom of a deep natural gorge, at the foot of an enormous cliff. You can discover the source of Fontaine de Vaucluse.
The spring is located at 80 meters above sea level, it springs at the foot of a steep cliff of 230 meters in the hollow of a valley clause “Vallis clausa” in Latin which gave its name to the department of Vaucluse. The source is the emergence of an immense underground network. It is the first in France with an annual flow rate of 630 million cubic meters per year. It’s particularly spectacular in spring and autumn in periods of flood with a flow of 90 m3 per second. Secondary springs feed the river and form a very beautiful body of water shaded by immense plane trees. One reaches the abyss (one of the deepest of the world) by a tourist route which goes up along the river.
Visits possible in the village of Fontaine de Vaucluse
- The free “Moulin à papier” and its gallery where you have the opportunity to buy your craft paper on the path that leads to the source.
- The ruins of the old Castle of the Bishops of Cavaillon which still overlook Fontaine de Vaucluse.