le Fugeret Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ® Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04240) Population: 163 Altitude: 840 m Nearby: [ Annot | Méailles | Vaire river valley ] Photos: A bigger view of the village, with a stormy sky (20 k) The old stone hump-back bridge. (27 k) Le Fugeret is on the Vaire river, on route D908 between Annot and Thorame-Haute, just below Méailles. This is a pretty little village in a high green valley, with streams flowing through, mills and some hydro-electric works, and an old stone bridge with an oratory at one end (photo 27k). It seems like a sleepy little village if you just drive through. Stop, though, and wander through the tiny streets to see the well tended houses and the nice big garden plots all around the village. If the weather's good, there will likely be petanque being played in front of the church. The village as a shop or two and a couple of restaurants, and makes an excellent place for a lunch stop. A short walk out of the village to the east, crossing the tracks (see Hiking, below), takes you across open fields towards hills and mountains. Walking back gives you a view across the fields and across the village, and is a wonderful sight, especially late in the day in the springtime. If you arrive by the Train des Pignes, the station is just a short walk from the center of the village. Continuing on by train, the tracks make a complete clockwise loop back to the south and then reverse direction to loop counter-clockwise back to the east before turning north to continue on towards Méailles. These loops cross a series of open fields and tunnels, letting the train climb quickly up to 900 m altitude for the journey north. Name The name Fugeret comes from the Latin "Fugeterum", a place where "fougères" (ferns) grow. First record, 13th century. History [ Top ] Gallo-Roman: Fugeret has the vestiges of a Gallo-Roman temple, and a Gallo-Roman mausoleum and statue were discovered at Argenton, four km northeast in the mountains. Medieval: The rulers of Fugeret were the Pontevès and later the Glandevez. The Templiers were in Fugeret, where they cleared the land for farming. Hiking Maps: IGN (1:25,000) 3541 ouest "St-André-les-Alpes"; 3541 est for the mountains east of Le Fugeret. Didier Richard (1:50,000) #19 "Haute Provence Verdon" There are a lot of good hiking trails in the region of Le Fugeret. Many loop hikes are possible between Le Fugeret, Méailles to the north and Annot to the south, either returning by foot or by the Train des Pignes. On the road that goes northeast out of the village, past the highest loop of the railway, a trail goes up the mountainside to the east, past the Ste-Madeleine oratory. The trail, not clearly marked but following signs for La Rouit, is a beautiful path up through a mixed forest with châtaigniers, ferns and other flowers. Different branches of the trail join the tiny Argenton road a bit further east. Two km south of Le Fugeret, a tiny road zig-zags northeast up through the mountains to the Col de Argenton and Argenton. A hiking trail follows this road to Argenton, and then further north. Other trails branch off, including one that goes south to Annot, northwest to Méailles, or west back to Le Fugeret. On the west side of the river, a trail goes south up the hillside to the Basse d'Allons (1493 m) where other trails go north, west, and south through the hills.