Travanet Path

The Travanet trail offers exceptional diversity in terms of landscape and heritage. It is situated in the southernmost part of the Réalmontais, a mountainous area close to the Montredonnais and the Arifat waterfalls. The start is in the hamlet of Travanet. It continues uphill to the highest point in the area (483m), offering a panoramic view of the Réalmontais before descending to the banks of the Dadou.

A trail of community interest created by the Centre Tarn Tourist Office. See § Practical information.

Details

2748425
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 12.59 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 299 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 299 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 481 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 249 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) Start at the old wash house and drinking trough. Head towards Mas d'Avy, then La Combié. Continue south-east and enter the forest.

(1) Carry straight on in the same direction until you reach a road.

(2) Take the hairpin bend to the left. Ignore a wide path on the right and continue north to Rieu de l'Aze (a restored farmhouse with a drinking trough).

(3) Turn right and follow the D11 road for about 700m, towards Arifat and Saint-Antonin-de-Lacalm.

(4) Pass Arifat on your right and head towards Saint-Antonin-de-Lacalm. Descend to the Dadou and cross the bridge.

(5) After the bridge, turn left onto the path running alongside the Dadou. You can see a tower from the10th-century Château de La Roque in the rocks to the right of the path. 3.5 km further on, you’ll reach a junction just before the Moulinotte dam.

(6) Ignore the path that climbs up to the Bancalié. To reach Travanet, continue for 100m along the riverbank and cross the Moulinotte dam (caution: take care). Follow the road to the right after the dam and head towards the hamlet of Laval.

(7) Continue to the left to reach Travanet at the square near the church.

(8) After a few metres, turn left onto the road and then very quickly right onto the path that crosses the village. Then follow the signposts back to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 359 m - Washing house/Fountain
  2. 1 : km 2.63 - alt. 469 m - Forest junction, straight ahead
  3. 2 : km 4.07 - alt. 424 m - Road/path junction, on the left
  4. 3 : km 5.93 - alt. 284 m - Rieu de l'Aze Farm
  5. 4 : km 6.61 - alt. 300 m - Saint-Antonin de Lacalm - Arifat junction
  6. 5 : km 7.15 - alt. 274 m - Turn left at the junction after the bridge - Dadou (rivière)
  7. 6 : km 10.84 - alt. 252 m - Junction with the Chemin de la Bancalié
  8. 7 : km 11.63 - alt. 322 m - Laval
  9. 8 : km 12.22 - alt. 352 m - Travanet, square with a cross
  10. S/E : km 12.58 - alt. 359 m - Washing house/Fountain

Notes

Centre Tarn Tourist Office
8, Place de la République
81120 Réalmont - Tel. 05 63 79 05 45

Montrdedon-Labessonnié Visitor Centre
2 Avenue des Pyrénées
81360 Montredon-Labessonnié
Tel. 05 31 81 95 61

(1) You can take the path on the left which leads back to Travanet:/A), completing a 4 km circular loop.

Worth a visit

(S/E) The Mas d'Avy fountain. This typical and vital feature of villages of yesteryear was used to water livestock, wash clothes and collect water.

(5) Along the way, enjoy a view of the10th-century Château de La Roque.

(6) By taking the path on the right, you can reach Lac de la Bancalié.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
3.5 / 5
lemarcheurdudimanche
lemarcheurdudimanche

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We were pleasantly surprised to arrive in Travanet and find a lovely car park right at the start of the walk. A big thank you to the people who made it possible for us to park safely. Thank you.

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Joeber
Joeber

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike but a bit too much tarmac

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Office de Tourisme Centre Tarn
Office de Tourisme Centre Tarn

Hello. I’m surprised to hear you’ve raised the issue of the signage again, as we sorted that out back in October. Could you let me know which areas caused you problems? Thank you

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LULUETULYSSE
LULUETULYSSE

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

This walk isn’t particularly difficult, apart from the steep climb at the end, which really puts your legs to the test. Some calves will certainly remember it.
I had the chance to walk it last January and November, and I enjoyed it much more in winter than in autumn, when the trees hadn’t shed all their leaves and were obscuring some of the views.
So, to really enjoy it, wait for the cold and the snow.
The signposting is patchy, but with a GPS there’s no problem.

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Olivier Fromenteau
Olivier Fromenteau

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

A hike with no proper trail... just tracks and roads, lots of roads. Apart from two or three pleasant views in this autumnal weather, this hike isn’t particularly interesting

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isa81360
isa81360

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We completed the walk in just three hours; the route is easy and presents no difficulties.
An old-fashioned hike without a smartphone, following the printed directions and the markings along the path.
We fumbled a bit at the start with the instruction “Continue south-east and enter the forest”; there are no markings and it’s easy to miss them. After a fairly steep climb, we then reached a dead end
We suggest adding the following instruction: “Continue south-east; just after the houses, take a small path on the left and enter the forest”.
We enjoyed this path for its absolute tranquillity and lovely views; at (2) you can see the church of Montredon-Labessonnié in the distance, and the walk runs alongside the Dadou river and the two dams visible through the curtain of vegetation. There is a short stretch of tarmac road with very little traffic (about 1.5 to 2 km in total).

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StephanieSandra
StephanieSandra

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

What a let-down! Much of the walk is along a road, which isn’t very pleasant. What’s more, you can hardly see the river at all along the path you take to follow its course. There’s nowhere to stop for a picnic. In short, apart from two or three nice views, the walk isn’t particularly interesting.

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