In the heart of the Puys in the Volcanoes Regional Nature Park

Park at the Goules car park on the Pontgibaud road (D941), after the Fontaine du Berger.

(S/E) Take the path on the right of the car park (with your back to the D941) to join a wide path. Follow this path to the left.

(1) At the next intersection, turn onto the path that branches off to the left, then after a few metres, turn left again towards Puy de Sarcoui until you reach an intersection.

(2) Turn left and continue to the next T-junction.

(3) Turn right onto the path that climbs into the woods.

(4) When you reach the pass between Puy des Goules and Grand Sarcoui, take the path on the right that climbs up to the Sarcoui cave, where lava blocks were quarried in the Merovingian Middle Ages (5th to 7th centuries) to make sarcophagi. An unfinished sarcophagus can still be seen at the back of the cave. Retrace your steps back to the pass.

(4) Then turn right. Continue straight ahead, leaving the path that climbs to the summit of Puy des Goules (which can be a variation of the circuit) on your left, until you reach an intersection.

(5) Continue straight ahead on the narrowing path surrounded by copses. It descends steeply at first, then opens onto a beautiful forest path. At this crossroads (elevation 960), turn left onto the forest path. Continue straight ahead until you reach an intersection.

(6) Turn sharp right and continue straight ahead, ignoring the paths on the left, until you reach another intersection.

(7) Turn left onto a wide path and head south-west, ignoring the paths on either side. Then follow the D941 road on your left for a few metres and cross it to take the wide forest path on the right. Be careful, this road is very busy. Continue straight ahead without leaving this wide forest path until you reach^{the GR®4}. Take it on the left until you reach another intersection.

(8) Turn left towards Col de Ceyssat (sign) and follow the GR^®. Opposite is Puy de Côme.

(9) At the new intersection, turn left and leave the GR^®. A sign indicates the direction of "Parking des Goules". A hundred metres further on, you will come to a large, beautiful clearing.

(10) At the beginning of the clearing, look for a large fir tree on your left and take the path on the right that climbs steeply to the pass between the Grand Suchet and the Puy du Cliersou. Be careful, this path is difficult to see due to the vegetation (the photo shows where the path is).

(11) At the pass, take the path on the left that climbs to the summit of Cliersou and its caves. This is a difficult climb that ends at the caves. Then descend to rejoin the path you left before the climb. Turn left and, at the next fork, turn right and continue to the foot of Pariou.

(12) Climb to the top of the Pariou using the wooden steps. This is the only authorised route for climbing this volcano, which remains a site sensitive to erosion. At the summit, a 360° panorama awaits you, where you can see the Puy de Dôme, Grand and Petit Knolls and Sarcoui to the south; Clermont, the Limagne plain and the foothills of the Forez to the east; the Puy de Côme to the west; and the Puy des Goules, Puy de Chopine and Sarcoui to the north.

(13) Start the tour of the crater in an anti-clockwise direction and take the path that descends to the bottom of the volcano. Return by the same route.

(13) Turn left (east-northeast) onto the path that winds downhill towards the Goules car park.

(14) At the T-junction, turn right and pass under a power line. At a fork, turn right towards the shooting range. Cross the access road to the shooting range and, after a few metres, turn left. Follow the D941 for a short distance, then turn off. At the next junction, turn left, cross the D941 and head for the car park on the left (S/E).

There are no water sources along the route.
Don't forget your binoculars and camera.
Hike done in winter, during the February holidays. At this time of year, avoid this hike in strong winds, especially at the summits of the Puys.
Although not particularly difficult or technical, this hike should be done in clear weather to enjoy the panoramic views.

Film by visorandonneur: Britanicus 100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkmh0gbu...

All comments below are taken from Wikipedia:

Le Grand Sarcoui: this is a dormant Peléan volcano with no crater. Its dome-shaped peak with a flattened summit resembles an upturned cauldron, which is why it is sometimes nicknamed "le Chaudron" (the cauldron). The Grand Sarcouy rises to 1,147 metres. On its eastern flank is a shallow cave, a former Merovingian quarry, from which blocks of trachyte lava were extracted to make sarcophagi (5th-7th century)2. The name Sarcouy comes from an Auvergne form of "cercueil" (coffin).

The Puy des Goules, opposite the Puy de Sarcoui, is a Strombolian volcano. It has a regular crater 30 metres deep and rises to an altitude of 1,146 metres.

The Puy de Côme, whose slopes of this ancient Strombolian volcano are covered with woodlands. It is a basalt cone rising to an altitude of 1,253 metres. Like the Puy de Pariou, it has two nested craters. Its lava flows are the largest in the entire volcanic chain. Its lava flowed down to the site of the present-day town of Pontgibaud and the Sioule River, a tributary of the Allier.

The Puy de Clierzou, or Cliersou, is an 11,000-year-old volcano. It is a dome rising to 1,199 metres. In ancient times, in the 2nd century, its caves were exploited by the Gallo-Romans for the temple of Mercury (at the summit of the Puy de Dôme) and sarcophagi.

The Grand Suchet is a cone crowned by a very faint volcanic crater, rising to an altitude of 1,231 metres. Wooded vegetation covers its regular slopes up to half way up, at an altitude of approximately 1,150 metres.

The Puy Pariou rises to an altitude of 1,209 metres. It has the typical shape of a Strombolian volcano and its crater is formed by two nested craters. The central crater, the highest and most recent, forms an almost perfect circle. It is 90 metres deep and 200 metres in diameter. Puy Pariou is often compared to Vesuvius.

The Puy de Dôme is a Peléan volcano that has been dormant for around 11,000 years. Its summit rises to an altitude of 1,465 metres. In the 1st or 2nd century, the Gallo-Romans built a temple dedicated to Mercury on its summit, which is now being reconstructed and whose influence extended far beyond the borders of the Arverni territory. It was abandoned in the 3rd or 4th century and rediscovered in 1872 during the construction of an atmospheric observatory. According to Pliny the Elder, the Arverni had a monumental statue of the god Mercury made by the Greek sculptor Zenodorus around 60 AD. It is tempting to think that it was located in this sanctuary, but there is currently no archaeological evidence of its location or even its existence.