Country:
District:
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 reachthe 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).
, not directly, as it's too steep - you have to descend from Petit Suchet towards Grand Suchet to head towards Clierzou, which looks like a black dust ski slope).
Visorando member
