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Planfoy is located 7 km south of Saint-Étienne. Take the "Le Rond Point" exit on the RN 88. Follow signs for Annonay-Valence-Col de La République. Start from Planfoy church. Car park near the town hall, 50 m away.
(S/E) With your back to the church entrance, turn right onto Rue Georges Clemenceau. After 250 m, turn right onto Chemin de Corbières.
(1) At a fork before the last house, take the right-hand path which descends gently towards the forest. The slope becomes steeper and the path more stony. After a hairpin bend to the left, you will come to an intersection (elevation 854).
(2) Follow the path that branches off to the left at a 90° angle. Descend heading north. When you reach the lake called Gouffre d'Enfer, turn right and walk along the top of the dam. On the other side, ignore the steps leading down to the left and continue for about 50 metres.
(3) At the fork, climb left to reach the viewpoint. Retrace your steps.
(3) Turn sharply left, then veer right (south) to walk along the lake on your right and the Fontaines aqueduct on your left (watch out for mountain bikes!). At the end of the lake, gently climb up the valley.
(4) Cross the Furan via a footbridge and follow the river on your left. After two hairpin bends uphill, you will arrive at a stone structure with 10 arches and 10 sluice gates that were used to direct the flow towards the aqueduct or the Furan (information panel).
(5) Cross the Furan again and take the path that immediately branches off to the right. Cross the Ruisseau des Sagnols to reach a very wide path (recent earthworks). Follow this path to the left. Make a hairpin turn to the right, continue south and arrive at the Pas de Riot dam.
(6) Turn right and walk along the top of the dam. At the end, turn left onto a wide path and walk along the lake on your left.
(7) At the small cove of Pont de Turenne, turn right onto a faint path that climbs into the forest. Continue south then south-west, ignoring the paths coming from the right or left. The path makes a sharp right turn as it crosses the stream. The climb continues until you come out opposite the stadium and campsite.
(8) Descend along the road and turn left. Before a right-hand bend, take the small tarmac path (no entry sign) and join the D1082. Cross the road and take the path opposite, which runs alongside some sheds. Continue along the path and enter the woods. Climb up through the woods and, at the exit, continue on flat ground towards the hamlet of Corduran. Leave the hamlet on your right and turn left to reach the D1082.
(9) Follow the road to the right without crossing it. About 50 metres further on, take a path on the right between the meadows. After 500 metres, turn right and then right again to reach the hamlet of Bel Air.
(10) Leave the buildings on your left and continue along the path. At the fork that you will soon come to, take the left-hand path. Enter the woods (the Vernets peat bog is signposted on the right). You may need to stray slightly from the path, which can be muddy even in summer.
(11) Cross the road at the large crossroads at Croix de Trèves and then take the wide path that branches off to the right. When this turns right, continue straight ahead on a narrower path. Cross the forest, heading north-east.
(12) At the Le Petit Nice crossroads, turn left onto the main path, leaving the houses on your right. Enter the Bois de la Neyranche, stay on the wide marked path and ignore all the paths branching off to the sides. 50 metres after a building on your right and 50 metres before a cross, you will find a hairpin path on your right that leads downhill.
(13) Follow this path, which crosses a stream and becomes Chemin du Moulin, which quickly leads to the D1082.
(14) Cross carefully (heavy traffic at certain times) to take Rue du 19 Mars 1962 opposite, which leads back to the church (S/E).
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