Croix du vellan walks

A peaceful hike with the panorama of the Croix du Vellan as our destination. View of the entire Diois valley and some of the peaks of the Vercors. A panoramic table invites you to learn about all these peaks.

This is a very beautiful hike, but should only be undertaken in very good weather. The first part follows the course of the Gervanne river, crossing numerous fords and wading through water, until you reach the magnificent Druise waterfall. The second part leads, via theGR®9, to the plateau and the Croix de Vellan overlooking the small village of Plan de Baix, where a 360° view allows you to admire some of the peaks of the Vercors and Baronnies.

From Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, the gradual climb to Plan-de-Baix and then to the Croix du Vellan (a picturesque passage between rocks and cliffs) is on good paths. From there, you can enjoy a unique view of the Gervanne Valley and the Trois Becs Massif. The return journey takes you through the village of Lozeron and the Domaine des Arômes (Sanoflore organic cosmetics factory and botanical garden).

At the gateway to the Vercors, at the end of a long ridge at an altitude of 1,000 metres, this rocky promontory is visible for dozens of kilometres around. The site offers a remarkable panorama of the village, which it overlooks by nearly 200 metres, the Rieussec and Gervanne valleys and the high plateaus of the Vercors, the Diois, the Trois Becs and the Montagne Saint-Pancrace. The place is peaceful at sunrise and offers an interesting view of the plateau stretching around the village with its farms, temple, chapel and castle. The elevation gain is modest and the distance is short. The loop makes the climb less difficult. We chose to start from the Church of Notre-Dame, at the bottom of the village, to discover this well-renovated Romanesque heritage site.