Jacob Waterfalls and La Grobelle

The looped walks of the Cascades (waterfalls) and La Grobelle immerse walkers in a lush verdant setting very close to the town. They follow the course of the Nant du Pontet, a little fast-flowing mountain stream offering many natural curiosities.

Also known under the name of Nant du Vard, its source is at an altitude of 750 m in the foothills of the Chartreuse Mountains, before flowing into the River Hyères 6 km below. The gushing torrent is more spectacular after rain or snow melts. Discover -Jacob waterfalls. -Giant kettles (deep cylindrical ponds dug out by the swirling water in the limestone rock), little canyons (deep gorges with vertical faces) and giant steps (rocky steps where water cascades) are dispersed all along the course of the torrent. Interesting titbits "Nant" is a regional term for a torrent; along the Nant du Vard or the Nant du Pontet (also called the Césalet or Cascade stream) water has dug out a series of basins or ponds. In the 18th century, in one of these giant kettles situated 100 m upstream from the first waterfall, the beautiful Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin and the niece of the Cardinal, used to come here to bathe surrounded by her ladies in waiting. This pond is named "Bain des Nymphes" or "Bath of the Nymphs". Appreciating the beauty of the place, George Sand set one of the scenes of her novel "Mademoiselle La Quintinie" here. Since 1963, the"blue stone" used in the making of natural cement is extracted from the Pontet quarries in Montagnole and used in the Chiron de la Revériaz Cement Plant in Chambéry. At first it was transported by oxen and horses, but from 1912 the stone was loaded into wagons of a cogwheel train. In 1924, gondola lifts followed the train before the metro de Montagnole started operating in 1963. This little electric train circulated in a tunnel dug in the rocks between Montagnole and Bellecombette. The Chiron Cement Plant bought in 1980 by the Vicat Group has been decommissioned since 1995.