A UNESCO-recognized Provençal park of low mountains, ochre valleys and globally significant geological heritage
Luberon Regional Nature Park
The Luberon Regional Nature Park is a protected regional park in southeastern France, centered on the Luberon massif, a low mountain range running east to west across the departments of Vaucluse and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Established in 1977 as the seventeenth regional nature park in France, the territory encompasses the Petit Luberon, the Grand Luberon and the Luberon Oriental, together with the southern flanks of the Monts de Vaucluse, creating a transitional landscape between the Mediterranean plains and the Alpine foothills.
The park is recognized at the international level for both its geological and ecological value. It was admitted to the UNESCO-assisted Global Geoparks Network in 2004 and, together with a broader surrounding area, forms part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve designated in 1997. Its diverse terrain of limestone ridges, fossil-rich plateaus, oak woodlands, scrubland, valleys and perched villages shelters a rich Mediterranean fauna and flora, alongside one of France's most important geological natural reserves.
Beyond its natural value, the Luberon is also an emblematic cultural landscape of Provence, shaped by centuries of agriculture, silkworm raising, ochre mining, truffle cultivation, and more recently by UNESCO-recognized efforts to revive traditional cereal varieties. Today, the park balances land conservation, sustainable economic activity and the management of a landscape that is simultaneously a working rural territory and one of the most visited natural areas in France.
