The highest point of the Dourbes bar, the Pic de Couard is one of the Dignoise region’s most emblematic peaks. It offers magnificent views over the Asse de Tartonne and Bléone valleys, the Cheval Blanc massif and the Pre-Alps.

A long limestone ridge running north-south, the Dourbes bar separates the Digne basin from the Barrême syncline. From time immemorial, the weaknesses of this rocky ridge have been used as natural passageways to enable people to travel between the Asse and Bléone valleys and Digne les Bains. Between the Pas de la Faye and the Pas de Tartonne, the bar is pierced by the Saint-Martin hole, through which a ray of sunrise passes on St-Martin’s Day, November 11 and January 30, St-Martine’s Day.