Ceyrat - Saint-Genès village via Chaos de la Faille and Artière

Departure from Ceyrat, Rue Frédéric Brunmurol, Brunmurol bus stop on line 26.

(S) With your back to the car park, turn right, walk past the town hall and, at the crossroads, continue straight on towards Royat. Stay on the right-hand pavement. Turn into the first street on the right, at a pretty cross, Rue de Chantemerle. At the Fork in the road, keep right, ignore a lane on the left and, at another fork, keep left. The street immediately makes a left turn. Continue straight ahead to find the start of a path.

(1) Follow it and go behind a campsite. Shortly afterwards, at a bench, ignore the path on the right and continue straight on along Chemin de Boucherade. At another bench, ignore a path on the left and turn left at a third bench, where the path changes its name to Chemin de Boisséjour. Ignore all paths on the left, cross a gap, ignore a path on the right and arrive on a street in Boisséjour leading to a busy road.

(2) Cross carefully (pedestrian crossing on the left), then turn right onto the footpath and take the first street on the left. Cross the bridge over the Artière. At the junction, take the second street on the left, Rue Gabriel Peri, and arrive at the church square. Continue straight ahead (covered fountain on the right), follow the one-way street AND pass a covered wash house. At the junction, take the second street on the left, Rue Pierre Curie.

(3) At the traffic lights, continue straight ahead on the same street, leaving a bridge over the Artière on your left, and carry on straight along Rue Pierre Curie. At the end of the tarmac, continue along the path, which then narrows into a track, running along the edge of the Artière. The track then winds upwards and ends with a few steps before reaching a T-junction.

(4) Turn left. Further on, you will see the Rocher de Gargantua on the left, on the other side of the Artière; ignore the path leading down to the left and continue onto a track.

(5) Follow it to the left and cross the Artière. Ignore a path that climbs to the right, then arrive at a Fork in the road, with the Rocher de Gargantua below on the left. Continue to the right. Further on, leave the track and climb up to the right via a few steps. Note the encrusted lava rocks, which form part of a botanical trail, and, at the top of the steps, continue the climb along the path. Ignore a path on the right and pass in front of the Rocher des Bénitiers.

(6) At the junction, continue to the left. Further on, ignore a path to the left then fords a stream (caution: not always easy, avoid wet weather). Ignore a path to the right then, at the T-junction, turn left. Please note: the maps are unreliable in this area. Ignore a path on the right and go straight down a few steps, passing the Rocher du Géant, then the Rocher du Diable.

(7) At the Fork in the road, head down to the left for a round trip to the Dent du Diable and Doigt du Diable rocks.

(7) On the way back, continue to the left. At a path junction, ignore the path going straight ahead and head up to the right. Pass the Rocher de la Croze and ignore a path on the left. At the T-junction, turn left and you’ll come out onto a track, not far from a road.

(8) Turn left, immediately ignore the path going up to the right and ignore another path to the right further on. You’ll reach a track with a water catchment on the left. Cross it and follow the path opposite. Further down, you’ll reach an old road.

(9) Turn right and follow the path which leads onto a road at a bend.

(10) Cross carefully, then head down the road to the left. You’ll reach a busy road (Avenue de la Libération); follow it to the right, cross a bridge over the Artière and you’ll soon come to a small car park on the right, with hiking signs.

(11) Cross the car park and take the path towards the Gorges de l’Artière and Dolmen de Samson, indicated by an old sign. The path runs alongside the Artière on your right. At the crossing over the Artière, ignore a path on the left (follow the sign for Route Gorges de l’Artière). Continue with the Artière now on your left, pass the Octopus Montanus sculpture, cross back to the right bank via a footbridge and leave the rocky outcrop known as Dolmen de Samson on your left. Take another footbridge to cross to the left bank. Shortly afterwards, the path climbs and reaches a junction (signposted Côte de Berzet).

(12) Continue left along the path which runs alongside the Artière and reach a junction (Ruisseau de Saint-Genès signpost).

(13) Continue straight on along the path that runs as close as possible to the Ruisseau de Saint-Genès (the name taken by the Artière further upstream). You’ll reach a junction of paths. Continue straight on to cross a bridge and explore the wetland, then return to the junction and head up towards Saint-Genès along a path lined with beautiful pollarded poplars. At the top, you’ll arrive in front of the old, renovated castle, which now houses an association. Walk past the church to reach a road and follow it to the left for about a hundred metres to find the Saint-Genès Centre stop for the TAD minibus (E).

Difficulty: Moderate, crossing a ford (avoid rainy periods) and a few steep paths in rocky terrain. Standard hiking equipment required, with perhaps one or two walking sticks.
I recommend the Visorando app.

Please note! For this stage, we will be using the Moovicité Transport on Demand service, so remember to book your journey! TAD.
Outward journey: Jaude, line B (Royat Place Allard) => Royat Place Allard then line 26 (Ceyrat Mairie or Ceyrat Fontimbert) => Ceyrat Mairie or Brunmurol.
Return: Saint-Genès Centre, TAD => CHU Montpied then line A (Les Vergnes) => Jaude.

Discover more walks in this area to follow with a description or via the Visorando app here, and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme here

This stage allows you to explore Ceyrat in greater depth with a visit to its second historic (and wine-growing) village, Boisséjour.
The route then climbs through the woods to explore an impressive rock formation, the Chaos de la Faille, a testament to the geological forces at work along this boundary, the Limagne Fault, between the Limagne Plain and the Plateau des Dômes.
After a brief return to the built-up part of Ceyrat, we rejoin the Artière in the gorges it has carved out at the very start of its course, and follow one of its headwater streams up to the Saint-Genès wetland, developed by Clermont Communauté.