The Bois des Hourciéres by Aurelle

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In Verlac, three circular routes (PR®1,PR®2andPR®3) all pass through Aurelle and follow the same path up to that point. These three hikes will dazzle you in spring with the extremely rich flora of the Aubrac meadows and in autumn with the combination of brown, yellow and orange colours of its forests.

Details

n°45552
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.18 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 587 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 578 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,126 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 803 m
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Photos

The chapel of Aurelle
Aurelle Fountain

Description of the walk

Park in the square in Verlac (signposted).

(S/E) Take the tarmac road westwards, following the signs for Aurelle,PR®1,PR®2andPR®3. Continue to Verlaguet.

(1) Continue west on the dirt track marked Aurelle. Enjoy the breathtaking views as you cross the clearing. Continue through the Devèzes de Rajals woods and then reach another clearing. You will come to a crossroads.

(2) Turn right to follow the woods on your left and reach the road leading to Les Escoudats.

(3) Turn left onto the road and continue for about 100 metres. On the right, take the path downhill to Aurelle. You will reach the Mandialou stream. Cross it and complete the short climb to reach Aurelle.

(4) Follow thePR®1,PR®2andPR®3signs. You will reach thePR®3junction.

(5) LeavePR®1andPR®2on your right. Continue north-east to reach the Boralde de Rioudis ford.

(6) Cross it and begin another climb to reach the wolf traps.

(7) To visit them, follow the sign. Join thePR®3and continue north-west to reach a crossroads at an elevation of 1011 metres. Turn left into a small meadow.

(8) Turn left into a small meadow, cross it and enter the Bois des Hourcières. Descend and follow the left bank of the Boralde du Merdanson.

(9) Follow this stream through its gorges. Reach three hairpin bends to exit the woods and reach the plateau. Follow the track to reach the village of Vieurals.

(10) Pass the church, continue on the D503 and leave the village. Pass the Rioudis stream.

(11) At the bend, take the path that climbs to the left. Then, on the right, pass the ladder and continue to the next path.

(12) Turn right for 100 metres, then take a new path on the left and continue.

(13) Cross the road and continue to the D503. Follow the road on the left for about 200m.

(14) Take the wide path on the right. Ignore all the paths or tracks on the right or left at the crossroads to reach the Verlaguet crossroads.

(1) Turn left onto the path you took on the way up to return to the Verlac car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 910 m - Verlac car park - Église Saint-Jacques (Verlac)
  2. 1 : km 0.52 - alt. 947 m - Verlaguet
  3. 2 : km 2.25 - alt. 923 m - Trail junction
  4. 3 : km 2.82 - alt. 923 m - Carrefour Les Escoudats
  5. 4 : km 4.12 - alt. 837 m - Égise Saint-Pierre (Aurelle)
  6. 5 : km 4.36 - alt. 866 m - Crossroads PR1, PR2, PR3
  7. 6 : km 5.15 - alt. 803 m - Ford on the Boralde Rioudis
  8. 7 : km 5.69 - alt. 904 m - Wolf traps
  9. 8 : km 6.45 - alt. 990 m - Clearing
  10. 9 : km 8.13 - alt. 934 m - Merdanson Gorges and Stone Bridge
  11. 10 : km 10.09 - alt. 1,100 m - Église Saint-Pierre (Vieurals)
  12. 11 : km 10.63 - alt. 1,070 m - Bend, path on the left
  13. 12 : km 11.02 - alt. 1,115 m - On the right
  14. 13 : km 12.7 - alt. 1,066 m - Crossing the road
  15. 14 : km 13.51 - alt. 1,016 m - Crossroads D503
  16. S/E : km 16.18 - alt. 910 m - Verlac car park - Église Saint-Jacques (Verlac)

Notes

There is a water source in Aurelle, but the water is not drinkable.
Shelters in the villages of Aurelle, Vieurals, Rieuzens and Les Mazes.
Consider bringing a stick to impress cows in case of hostile behaviour, without provoking them. Keep your dog on a leash.
Wear high-top shoes, a hat, and bring water bottles and a windbreaker.
If you discover the face carved into a chestnut tree in the Aurelle Forest, you earn the right to return...
Bring a picnic.

Worth a visit

The listed church in Verlac, the key is at Lili's.
The basalt columns are after Verlac, going up the D503, on the left.
The church in Vieurals
The village of Aurelle remains a sanctuary of rural life. A 13th-century chapel, a communal bread oven, a few houses, a garden and a water mill. Now the inhabitants have left because there are no roads to get there, only footpaths, and no electricity.
A good twenty of them left for Argentina, to Piguë with other comrades from the canton, between 1880 and 1900.
The Aubrac plateau was formed by volcanoes 1 to 2 million years ago. On the southern slope, numerous rivers, sometimes stormy, sometimes mysterious, called boraldes, have shaped the landscape down to the Lot valley below.
Human hands completed the work, building paths, meadows, hamlets, villages, mills and burons (stone huts) by hand.

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.

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Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 9 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
bergpaden
bergpaden

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A great hike.
Please note: the hike is well marked until number 8. From there, you have to search a little, but once you're on the trail, the landscape is magnificent, with obstacles created by fallen trees.
We had a wonderful time.
Bea

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RandoAlex
RandoAlex

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike with varied landscapes. The signage is well done except at Les Escoudats, where a sign points to the Aurelle chapel in the opposite direction.
The description mentions shelters in several villages: the one in Aurelle does not exist and we did not see any in Vieurals.
Be careful after heavy rain: the ford becomes impassable.

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brousse
brousse

Thank you for your appreciation, but unfortunately, at 80 years old and lacking practice, I don't think I can do it anymore...

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Nadège12
Nadège12

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely encounter with a TAO dog for 10 km!!!
A pleasant hike, we had quite a bit of wind but never mind
You need the Visorando GPS because there are some small changes to the route.

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brousse
brousse

Good preparation...

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orion6:sirius
orion6:sirius

When I photocopy or download a hike, it's several weeks or months before we do it with our association, so the one in VERLAC will be done in September, which is why I'm not giving my opinion. In any case, thank you for your guides, which are very useful to us. Sirius:

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quichotte
quichotte

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Perfect until Aurelle, where I got a little lost before finding the marked trail again. It was trail 3, which I followed to the meadow in 8. The cows stood up when I crossed the meadow with an Australian shepherd on a leash. I didn't want any trouble with these ladies, so I turned back and took a small path that took me back across the Rioudis stream to Bournhou. Then I found the marked route pr2 to get back to Verlac. 11.87 km. Superb scenery. You should be in Verlac on 25 May for the étive, when the cows go up to the Aubrac.

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christianvic
christianvic

Good evening, yes, there is indeed a gate blocking the path. For the Hourcières woods, we crossed the meadow to the woods without any problems. When we arrived at the woods, we found an old green mark on a tree (an old Chamina marker?). Once in the woods, it was more difficult as there were lots of dead leaves covering everything, so there was no trace of a path. We walked about fifty metres and then turned back. We will try again in another season.
Thank you and have a good evening.

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brousse
brousse

You say, a gate on the shortcut!? I'll go and take a look...
To find the southern entrance to the Bois des Hourcières, which I think is an enchanting wood with the Boralde at the bottom, you have to cross the small meadow, heading north-west. After about fifty metres, you quickly reach the end of the meadow where you will find PR3 signs on the trees guiding you to the entrance to the wood.I usually use my brush cutter to clear the path from the first PR3 sign to the entrance to the woods, but this year I've had health problems...

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christianvic
christianvic

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 18, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike with magnificent scenery. Two comments: at point 8, the path through the Hourcières woods is invisible in autumn under the carpet of dead leaves, so we turned back and returned to Vieurals via the main road; at point 12, the farmer had closed the path with a locked gate and put up a "private property" sign, so we went over it, but it's good to know. Otherwise, the hike is easy to follow with the route and map (and possibly a GPS).

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Amy B.
Amy B.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very pleasant hike from Verlac to Vieurals. You walk alongside streams and beautiful spots that allow you to relax and unwind. Very pretty woods where you can stop for a stroll. Be careful, however, as there are some fairly steep descents/ascents.
After Vieurals, we found the hike a bit long. Forest tracks and road crossings on the treeless plateau are less enjoyable.

For those who might want to do the route in reverse (which is what we did), the path with the wooden signs is not marked.

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BURLAS
BURLAS

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Being quite familiar with this hike, having done it many times, I would just like to point out that during periods of high water, particularly this year, the Boralde de Rioudis ford is impassable and even dangerous.

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randoactive
randoactive

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Great hike, I recommend it.

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jmby12
jmby12

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
We completed the Verlac - Aurelle circular route via the PR3, some sections of which are relatively steep, making the route difficult for some people who are apprehensive about descents. In addition, there are felled and fallen trees along the route.
That said, the woods are magnificent and there are some beautiful scenes (streams, waterfalls, etc.) and views to be discovered.
Happy hiking to all!
Colette & Jm

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In Verlac, three circularPR®1,PR®2andPR®3loops all pass through Aurelle and follow the same route up to that point. These three hikes will dazzle you in spring with the extremely rich flora of the Aubrac meadows and in autumn with the combinations of brown, yellow and orange in its forests.

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