Circular Caylar route via La Couvertoirade

From the charming little Causse village of Caylar and its legendary carved tree, a beautiful detour onto the Causse du Larzarc takes us to the medieval village of La Couvertoirade. The vegetation, typical of the great Causses, alternates between meadows, fields, and groves of pine and white oak trees. The paths are lined with box trees. From the top of the hills, at an altitude of around 800 m, the view stretches eastwards towards the Aigoual massif. A visit to the village of La Couvertoirade, founded by the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller, is a must.

Details

88049634
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.07 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 541 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 564 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,713 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 2,349 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the small car park behind the town hall.

(S/E) With the town hall on your left, walk between the buildings to reach the Mail du Terral. Turn left and head towards Avenue de Millau.

(1) Follow it to the right, turn left and go round the carved tree.

(2) Take Rue du Quai on the other side of the square. Then turn right and twice left. Walk past Square de l’Arbre de la Liberté. Continue left onto Rue de la Lavogne then onto Chemin du Cros.

(3) At the crossroads, continue left until you reach a fork.

(4) Turn right and head towards a junction before the Mouisse farm.

(5) At the fork, leave the PR® and turn right. A little further on (200m), turn left. At the next fork, leave the path on the right and continue straight ahead, then turn right

(6) At the next fork, ignore the path on the right and continue straight ahead. You will rejoin the PR® route (yellow markers).

(7) At the fork, continue straight on along the path to the GRP®.

(8) Turn left onto the GRP®, which leads to the medieval village of La Couvertoirade, which you overlook as you arrive. After a sharp right-hand bend, turn left onto the track.

(9) Enter the village walls through the south gate to explore. Turn right, then take the second left before turning right. Next, turn right and then head left up towards the castle. Once at the top, go down the other side.

(10) Exit via the north gate of the square tower. At the exit, turn left then take the left fork onto the tarmac path that runs along the western ramparts.

(9) Opposite the south gate, turn right, heading due south, onto the GR®71 and follow it to Le Caylar. Then turn left and continue straight on until you can go no further. Turn right to reach the D609.

(11) Turn left onto the Route de Millau. Reach the car park by turning right then left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,418 ft - Car park behind the town hall
  2. 1 : mi 0.08 - alt. 2,434 ft - Avenue de Millau
  3. 2 : mi 0.18 - alt. 2,454 ft - Rue du Quai
  4. 3 : mi 0.46 - alt. 2,405 ft - Cross
  5. 4 : mi 0.8 - alt. 2,405 ft - Junction on the Chemin du Cros
  6. 5 : mi 1.45 - alt. 2,362 ft - La Mouisse
  7. 6 : mi 1.8 - alt. 2,362 ft - Road suitable for vehicles
  8. 7 : mi 2.06 - alt. 2,415 ft - Le Favet
  9. 8 : mi 2.6 - alt. 2,513 ft - GRP®
  10. 9 : mi 5.23 - alt. 2,530 ft - South Gate
  11. 10 : mi 5.4 - alt. 2,552 ft - North Gate
  12. 11 : mi 8.74 - alt. 2,388 ft - D609
  13. S/E : mi 9.07 - alt. 2,418 ft - Car park behind the town hall

Notes

Walking shoes, as the paths are sometimes stony

Worth a visit

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

3.4 / 5
Based on 4 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.3 / 5
Route interest
3.8 / 5
marsserou
marsserou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 11, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Arrival in La Couvertoirade – absolutely stunning.
The route is very well signposted.

Machine-translated

ALPAEL
ALPAEL

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hike completed today, 10 May 2026. Up to point 5: no problems; after that, it’s completely unclear between points 5 and 6
the path is barely visible on the ground; you have to cross woods, climb over fences, etc. The path is lost because the vegetation is overgrown. Despite the GPS track, navigating this maze of trees and rocks is extremely difficult. Once you reach point 7, it gets better; then the very well-marked GR de Pays trail makes you almost forget the previous difficulty. Why route this path via the Mouisse farm when a parallel path marked in black (elevations 718, 732, or even 730) on the IGN map could very well lead to the GR de Pays?
To be seen. Very disappointed with this suggested hike.

Machine-translated

kris.teyran
kris.teyran

Hello Antonia1
A fence must certainly have been put up at the start of this path (between 5 and 6), which wasn’t there when I did the walk. What surprises me is that it’s a ‘Petite Randonnée’ (PR) path marked in yellow!
In any case, I will amend the route to bypass this section.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Kris.Teyran

Machine-translated

Antonia1
Antonia1

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 06, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello, I agree with cricri 34’s comment (which I read when I got back); I couldn’t find the path between points 5 and 6. You do indeed have to climb over the fence, which I didn’t do.
Would it be possible for you to correct the GPS route? That would be great
Have a good day.

Machine-translated

kris.teyran
kris.teyran
• Edited:

Hello cricri 34
I am sorry that you did not find the path after the Bouisses farm between points 5 and 6. Normally, there is no fence to cross! Perhaps you missed the path that branches off to the right? Yellow markings help you follow the route. Unless a shepherd has put up a new fence? GPS devices can sometimes be a bit temperamental; they are not always accurate to the nearest metre!
Thank you for letting us know. I will keep an eye out in case other hikers report difficulties on this section. If so, I will make the change you suggest and take the main path on the right. I hope this didn't affect your walk too much and wish you many more enjoyable hikes in the future.
Kris.teyran

Machine-translated

cricri 34
cricri 34

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 25, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello
Luckily we're using a GPS, because there's a big problem between points 5 and 6. About 300/400 metres after the Mouisse farm, you have to leave the path and jump over a fence to follow the GPS route. You have to cross a wood where there are no longer any tracks, just the GPS to guide you. Thanks to it, we managed to reach point 6. However, if you turn right at point 5 and then take the path on the left a little further on, you will reach point 6 without any difficulty. I don't think this route is very popular, otherwise it would have been signposted. That aside, it was a very beautiful hike that we did in the mist, which added to its charm, especially when we arrived at La Couvertoirade, where there was hardly anyone else!
Thank you for this beautiful hike! (16.910 km on our GPS)
Best regards.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.