Country:
District:
In the Rhône valley, on the right bank (Ain), head towards Serrières-de-Briord and, north of the town, take the road climbing up to the Chartreuse de Porte. Just before Bénonces, park at the crossroads marked 380 m on the IGN map.
(S/E) Take the path climbing south towards Sur les Cras, which levels out as it approaches the quarries. Leave it on the left and take a short path that climbs up to join the marked path climbing from Serrières.
(1) Take this path on the right and follow it uphill, ignoring a discreet trail on the left (it leads to the Virgin Mary statue but disappears into the box trees) and continue to the next crossroads.
(2) Turn left to the south-west. The path is level at first, then descends to the Vierge de Chateland.
(3) From the Virgin Mary statue, retrace your steps along the well-marked path to the north until you reach a crossroads on a flat area in the forest.
(4) Take the path on the left that climbs towards the ridge, going around a small cliff on the left, then reach the western side of the Rochers de la Cra.
The path continues mostly level, with a few climbs to the ridge in areas that are sometimes crevassed, until you reach Montagne de Cuny, where it climbs to the right and leads to Charbonnières in a clearing reached by a forest track. Take this track to the left until it turns into a descent to the north. You are now at the edge of the fields at Creux de la Boulie.
(5) Take a path to the right, heading northeast, which gradually climbs through the forest to reach the ridge and crosses a track at the highest point of the hike (790 m).
(6) Turn right to descend gently to the foot of Rocher de Cuny: a short climb to the right leads to the cross.
(7) From the cross, return to the forest track and take it downhill to the right. It joins a gravel forest road at a bend.
(8) You can follow this road down to Bénonces, but it is easier to descend immediately to the right at Le Doret and take a path through the forest that cuts across the wide bend in the road.
(9) Once back on the forest road, follow it downhill to the first houses in the hamlet of Tortolliet.
(10) From there, there are several options for returning to the starting point:
- Turn right to follow the marked path across the hillside (former vineyards) until you descend and rejoin the uphill path at the crossroads leading to the Virgin Mary statue. Then descend to the quarries and turn left to return to the road (GPS route option).
- Descend towards the hamlet of Sous Chevalier and take another path on the hillside leading back to the uphill path a little further down and return to the starting point in the same way.
- Turn left and descend along the road to the CD 32, which you follow to the right to the starting point: faster, but on a fairly busy road.
(2) Continue straight ahead.
(1) Turn left to return to the starting point (S/E).
Visorando member
Easy 
Difficult 
