Puy du Roc route

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Route from Puy du Roc starting from Chatel-Montagne in the Bourbonnais mountains.

Details

n°2826427
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 8.86 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 281 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 281 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 610 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 430 m
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Photos

Chatel-Montagne
Charasse
Church of Chatel-Montagne

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the church, follow the yellow signs for the Bourbonnais mountain walks and descend the path opposite the church. At the intersection, turn left and at the next intersection, continue straight ahead to reach the D207.

(1) Follow it for a few dozen metres, then turn left onto the path crossing the locality of Chez Garnier. Continue straight ahead until you reach the departmental road, which makes a U-turn. Just after the road bridge over the Ruisseau du Moulin Gonge, leave the road and turn right towards the locality of Moutet.

(2) At Moutet, turn right onto the GR®3 (marked in white and red) and follow it until you reach a Y-junction.
Please note that from this point onwards, you should no longer follow the yellow signs for the Bourbonnais mountain walks.

(3) Turn right towards Charasse. Cross the locality and follow the signs for Les Caves, then Signablin, staying on the same road. Leave the road at the left-hand bend after the locality and take the path that leads to the D25.

(4) Cross at the main road. Follow the road along the forest to Bassinet.

(5) At the entrance to the locality, turn immediately right onto the path; the Roc orientation table is signposted.

(6) You can make a return trip to Puy du Roc by taking the path on the right. There is an orientation table. Otherwise, continue straight ahead to the road.

(7) Follow the road at the top to stay parallel to the main road. Turn left onto Rue Louis Stalpaert (D25) then, at the T-junction, go about 50 metres to the right and then turn left to reach the village church (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 511 m - Church
  2. 1 : km 1.28 - alt. 523 m - Departmental crossroads
  3. 2 : km 2.81 - alt. 516 m - Moutet
  4. 3 : km 3.78 - alt. 568 m - Separation of the GR3 and the Roc route
  5. 4 : km 6.12 - alt. 562 m - Departmental crossroads
  6. 5 : km 6.96 - alt. 562 m - Bassinet junction
  7. 6 : km 8 - alt. 600 m - Start of the trail to Puy du Roc
  8. 7 : km 8.4 - alt. 532 m - Return to the village
  9. S/E : km 8.86 - alt. 511 m - Church

Notes

The walk passes by several rivers and old stone animal troughs. There is a significant descent when leaving the village at the beginning and then coming down from Le Roc towards the village at the end.

Worth a visit

Beautiful views during this walk.
Two orientation tables are accessible at Puy du Roc: the first above the telephone tower and thesecond even higher up, following the path that climbs upwards. But be careful: the view is completely obstructed by vegetation.
Virgin Mary at the fork in the road.
11th-century church in Châtel-Montagne.

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

4.7 / 5
Based on 8 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 26517434

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nothing to say about the quality of the information provided by VISORANDO: it's really good overall.
However, I know I shouldn't mention it, but there's a big mistake in the red and white GR trail markings: over a large part of the route, they have completely disappeared, which is quite a problem.

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lyllatsrando
lyllatsrando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thanks to Adelyon for this beautiful hike
Modest in terms of distance, but challenging in terms of elevation
Magnificent views, beautiful villages and/or localities
Superb panorama at the orientation table
A beautiful day

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stefjerem
stefjerem
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pretty walk, alternating between woods and open areas

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maddedoux
maddedoux

It's a shame that the route suggested here doesn't follow the entire length of PR No. 23 (yellow markings).
This means you miss out on the Signablin plateau and its magnificent view of the Chaîne des Puys.
Another important piece of information: the vegetation no longer obscures the view from the orientation table, as the wood below has been cleared.

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User 15572841

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike in the snow on 23 January. Please note that the markings are sometimes very sparse, so you need to be very vigilant.

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martial.7.2
martial.7.2

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The interior of the Romanesque church at the starting point is really worth seeing, particularly to admire the counterweight clock (and what counterweights!) and the bell tower, which can be seen from the lit staircase on the left side of the choir.
Be careful if you are afraid of heights, especially during the second phase of the climb when you reach the roof!
As for the orientation tables, the first one (view of Châtel Montagne) is accessible via a path after the antenna (be careful; the start may not be visible as it is not often used) on the left of the path leading to the large orientation table at the top of Puy du Roc, which always overlooks trees and is of no interest.
Between points 3 and 4, when you reach Les Caves, you can take a shaded path (marked mountain bike trail) by turning left onto Chemin des Caves until you reach point N 46.101661° / E 3.70634°, where you must turn right towards point
N 46.100335° / E 3.705111°, then turn right onto the path that climbs up to Signablin.

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FANTIN
FANTIN

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

My only regret... at the orientation table, the vegetation completely obscures the view described on the table...
Kind regards, JP Fantin.

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Odile F
Odile F

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route, well described.
The summit of Puy du Roc is overgrown with vegetation. Near the Madonna stele, you have a splendid view of Chatel Montagne.
The first descent at the start and the last one after the Madonna were very rutted due to heavy rain in the previous days. But the hike is definitely worth it.
Superb walks in the Bourbonnais region, which I didn't know.

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Christian1956
Christian1956

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike of moderate difficulty.
Magnificent landscapes of the Bourbonnais mountains.
However, the climb to the summit of Puy du Roc is not particularly interesting as the site is overgrown with vegetation and you can no longer see the landscapes shown on the orientation table.
At the statue of the Virgin Mary, there is a beautiful view of Chatel-Montagne and its Romanesque church.

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