Cuchet viewpoint

This moderately difficult walk will take you through unspoilt countryside and offer a unique view from the Cuchet viewpoint.
In autumn, the colours are stunning...

Details

165748
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.87 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,877 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,883 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 3,317 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,696 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

You set off from the small village of Choux; the easiest starting point is the church (parking available).

(S/E) Walk down Rue de l’Église.

(1) Turn right onto Chemin de la Courbière and you’ll come to a covered wash house.

(2) Turn right, leave the village and follow the D63 downhill until you reach a path on the left just before a stream.

(3) Leave the tarmac and take the path on the left, marked in yellow and red, which forms part of the Tour du Jura Sud.

(4) At the junction, keep to the left. You will cross several scree slopes resulting from the erosion of the cliff on your left, and you will also hear the murmur of the Perrine stream on your right. You will arrive at the hamlet of Au Moulin. Continue along the GRP® and climb to the end of the Chemin de la Cascade.

(5) Turn onto the hairpin bend to the right, pass through the hamlet of Au Closet and arrive in Vulvoz.

(6) Take Rue du Four on the left, then the D291 heading uphill to the left, and cross it several times, taking the paths on the right each time. Pass the memorial stone and continue along the road to Samiat.

(7) Almost at the edge of the small village of Samiat, opposite No. 6, turn right at a 90° angle onto a fairly long, steep and almost straight path leading up to Sur le Becquet.
Continue south-east for 1.7 km, initially skirting a private property on the right (with a wire fence and electric wire at the very top); carry on, ignore a path on the left and continue straight on (or almost straight on) until you reach a fork in the road.

(8) Turn left, continue for about a hundred metres to join a path, then turn right and continue for about 500m to reach a path.

(9) Head straight on for 550m.

(10) Leave the GRP® Tour du Haut Jura Sud at a bend. Continue for 2 km along a good track which turns into a grassy path and head into the woods to reach the crossroads.

(11) Join theGRP®® (Yellow and Red) again. Continue for 300m to the right.

(12) Turn right again to reach the Belvédère du Cuchet, which is very well signposted (orientation table).

(13) Retrace your steps.

(13) Turn right at the crossroads to begin a fairly steep descent for 700m (forest track).
Pass a reservoir on your right and you’ll reach the tarmac road. Turn right, then take the first street on the right to reach the cemetery in the village of Choux (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 2,733 ft - Choux, church
  2. 1 : mi 0.09 - alt. 2,694 ft - Chemin de la Courbière.
  3. 2 : mi 0.19 - alt. 2,638 ft - Crossroads
  4. 3 : mi 0.63 - alt. 2,516 ft - Path on the left
  5. 4 : mi 1.24 - alt. 2,339 ft - Crossroads
  6. 5 : mi 2.41 - alt. 1,752 ft - End of the Chemin de la Cascade
  7. 6 : mi 2.99 - alt. 1,870 ft - Vulvoz
  8. 7 : mi 4.15 - alt. 2,329 ft - Samiat
  9. 8 : mi 5.7 - alt. 3,100 ft - Turn left
  10. 9 : mi 6.21 - alt. 3,048 ft - Pré d’Aval junction
  11. 10 : mi 6.53 - alt. 2,943 ft - Continue straight ahead
  12. 11 : mi 7.74 - alt. 3,182 ft - Turn right onto the GRP
  13. 12 : mi 8.01 - alt. 3,235 ft - Turn right towards the viewpoint
  14. 13 : mi 8.22 - alt. 3,317 ft - Cuchet viewpoint
  15. S/E : mi 9.87 - alt. 2,736 ft - Choux, church

Notes

Toilets, bread oven and workshop (for treating the hooves of cows and horses in Vulvoz).
When you reach the spot known as “Sur le Becquet”, please respect private property.

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

Giant anthill at the bottom of the descent on the left before reaching Choux.
Goat farm (Poitevine dairy breed).

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 29 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.2 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you, Brigitte C3, for your comments; I have just updated the entry accordingly.

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Brigitte C3.
Brigitte C3.

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Hike taken on Whit Monday.
The path indicated at point 2 is no longer maintained, so it is better to use the marked path that goes past “Chez Fournier”.
Similarly, before reaching Samiat, beneath the high-voltage power line, the path no longer exists; we crossed a meadow that had just been mown, otherwise you have to continue along the road.
The waterfall is magnificent and apparently always has water. The village of Vulvoz has a very pretty oven, a fountain with drinkable water (despite the sign to the contrary), and a stonework structure in excellent condition.
A lovely walk!

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zorglubpg
zorglubpg

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Many trees fell across the path on the descent from Choux to the mill waterfall.

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nelloche
nelloche
• Edited:

From point 2 onwards, there are no more signposts. After many difficulties, we arrived in a field and found the route again. It was fine until we reached the waterfall, with beautiful scenery in the woods, and the waterfall was really worth seeing, but after that it was a struggle to get to the Cuchet viewpoint, with no signposts or signs that had been removed. We wandered around in the woods with lots of forks in the path. Luckily we had our mobile phone to find our way. This section is of no interest, we are in the woods with no view. Really disappointing.

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Kristo×Coco
Kristo×Coco

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike, point 1 isn't very easy to find; we were in a field, then we went back down to find the path!
Between points 3 and 5, we followed the road instead of the path, but both routes led to the same place! (The road was less muddy! )
To get to the waterfall, it was a bit slippery and there were two possible paths! A very beautiful waterfall with a good flow! (done in December! )
A lovely view from the Cuchet viewpoint (it was very Choux! )

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lolo 01
lolo 01

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very pleasant walk

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montpounat
montpounat

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Some sections were impassable due to vegetation, forcing us to take the road
The start of the route is very interesting.
The section between the waterfall and Samiat on the road (between points 3 and 5) has some paths that are too overgrown. After Samiat until the end: very good.
Very beautiful view from the Cuchet viewpoint

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Sev colas
Sev colas

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. Between points 5 and 6, I made a round trip to the viewpoint at La Croix. The waterfall was superb despite the low water level at this time of year. To be repeated after a good spell of rain 😉

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Michel des Courtils
Michel des Courtils

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, with water in the fountains to cool off in the heat!

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giroddo@orange.fr
giroddo@orange.fr

Thank you for your insightful and entirely justified comments.

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Jean-Louis01
Jean-Louis01

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant short hike with varied landscapes in a beautiful setting. The Vulvoz waterfall is worth a detour and the breathtaking view from the Cuchet viewpoint is remarkable. Thank you for sharing.
PS: I read some of the previous comments, which are really not justified. When you're a hiker, you also need to know how to read a map or GPS and interpret geographical features in the terrain... I have posted various hikes myself and have also been the "victim" of this kind of comment... NO, the hikes shared on Visorando are NOT NECESSARILY MARKED. They also take you off the beaten track so you can make beautiful discoveries in nature.
Thank you again for creating this beautiful hike.

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piccolopripri
piccolopripri

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 17, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you for this beautiful hike. I started in Vulvoz, which allowed me to finish in style at the waterfall.
Vulvoz town hall car park: apparently no spaces available. We parked at the exit on the hard shoulder near point 4. Space for 3-4 cars.
To cut the first bend, the path is very narrow and not easy to see, but there is currently a stake to mark it.
Cut before the monument: we didn't do this because there were cows in the fields and the grass was wet and tall.
At Sur le Puits, we weren't brave enough to go to the viewpoint towards Sur Ciry. Interesting???
In the woods, it's easier to follow the GPS track rather than the directions.
The view from Le Cuchet is superb. After point 2, a little explanation would help! The GPS guided us. At the beginning, when you hesitate, go to the left of the hedge.
The waterfall: at a signpost, choose the waterfall 200 metres away rather than the other sign (longer route). Don't be put off by the dog!
Descent at the bottom of the waterfall: The path was dry but tricky to navigate, so I would avoid it if the ground is wet.

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Paredes
Paredes

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route despite the heatwave.
We climbed up to Samiat from Vulvoz almost entirely along the road, which was a shame as the shortcuts aren't visible.
Otherwise, no problems. The waterfall comes up quickly along the route. Perhaps choose a different starting point.

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Danleb
Danleb

Hike not completed due to changes in holiday destination

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Suzanne.bonifas
Suzanne.bonifas

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very interesting hike to discover this waterfall with its ancient history involving various mills in the 19th century.
We noticed that box tree moths were very active on the path before the waterfall. All the box trees are destroyed and the caterpillars were blowing us kisses all along the way!

The description of the route is good, but a few additional comments would be helpful between points 5 and 7
there are several forks in the path and just before point 6, it's a little confusing, but not a problem as all the tracks lead to point 8.

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