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Start at the car park of the church in Bons.
(S/E) From the church, head north-west along Rue de la Louvatière. At the end of the street, turn left, cross the bridge over the Furans, then cross the school car park. At the end of the car park, cross the small bridge and go up the tarmac road.
(1) At the top of the hill, turn left (do not take the gravel path on the right, which will be the return route). Continue along the boundary wall of a private property. At the end of the wall, about fifteen metres after the large gate, leave the tarmac road and take the path on the right, following it to the chalet.
At the chalet, turn right and continue along the road to the entrance of the Abbaye farm (private property). Just before the farm entrance, ignore the path that branches off to the left and continue to the first farm building. Do not go up into the farmyard, but take the path on the right that runs alongside the sheep pen fence. The path then moves away from the pastures. Continue, ignoring two paths that branch off to the left, and further on, at a three-way junction, go up to the right. The path becomes wider. Pass under the power line and continue to the junction with the gravel path.
N.B. If you go down to the left for about 200 metres, you can make a round trip to Lac du Bret, a protected wetland where grey herons, coots and little grebes nest. You can walk around the lake.
(2) Cross the path and take the small path opposite that climbs into the undergrowth (be careful not to take the main path, either to the left or right). Follow the markings on the dry boxwood branches. On the climb, leave the first path on the right and continue straight ahead. Further on, at the bottom of the slope, continue straight ahead, ignoring the path that continues to the right. At the next intersection, do not go down to the left, but continue to the right to finally climb between the rocks and reach a stone plateau. Cross the stones following the cairns, then turn right to rejoin the path until you reach a perpendicular path.
(3) At the crossroads, turn left and continue to the next stone plateau. Start to go around it and finally cross it, always following the marks on the stones. Go down the path and continue towards the heather. The path will soon be surrounded by heather, and in April you can see pasque flowers here (be careful not to pick or crush the flowers). Continue to a clearing covered with heather.
(4) Leave the path that continues straight ahead, turn left and cross through the heather, following the sign for the cliff. You will soon find the path that leads to the viewpoint overlooking the village of Chavillieu.
(5) Take the path between two trees. Continue to the viewpoint above the fish farm located in "les grands moulins de Chazey-Bons".
This cliff, about fifty metres high, overlooks the fish farm, the Furans river and the railway line. Throughout the passage along the ledge, keep an eye on children, even though the path is never less than a metre from the edge (for those who are sensitive to vertigo, it is always possible to move away by walking through the bushes). Also be careful of the faults carved into the rock, which are often at least 30 cm wide and can reach depths of up to 3 metres, confirming that this hike should be avoided when there is snow. ¹
(6) Then move away from the ledge, following the markers and cairns to reach a cross path that you take to the left. The path descends gently to the stone path.
(1) Take this path to the left to reach the village of Chazey-Bons. After crossing the bridge over the Furan, the church car park is on the right (S/E).
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