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At Cros-de-Géorand, there are plenty of parking spaces between the church and the washhouse, or to the right of the church, where you’ll also find the Info-Rando sign.
(S/E) From the car park, follow the D302 towards Le Tauron, which you cross. Follow the departmental road, marked with yellow-redGRP®® signs. Turn left at the hairpin bend, then take the path leading uphill immediately to the right. Pass through two gates.
(1) At the junction, take the path on the right towards Le Poyet. You’ll leave the yellow-red marked path and follow white-yellow markings. After 150 m, head up to the left to the signposted viewpoint: there you’ll find an information board explaining the landscape. At the foot of the ridge, on the opposite side to the finish, lies the Lapalisse-sur-la-Loire dam, which also supplies Montpezat. There is a view of several wind farms.
(2) Return to the signposted path and turn left onto it. Continue along this path, which descends to the Croix de Montlaur, of which only the original plinth remains (a small cement cross on the plinth). Follow the tarmac road on your left.
(3) At the hairpin bend, take the dirt track to the right; then, after about 70 m, follow the path that descends to the left, continuing to follow the signposts. You’ll pass through an avenue of tall beech trees towards Sagnelongue (a beautiful house). Reach a small pass on the ridge path.
(4) Leave the track and take a path on your right which descends steeply through the woods. Follow the white-and-yellow markings carefully at the junctions. On the final stretch of the descent, before the ruined mill at Fédarié, two routes run parallel and converge at the same point just before the small bridge over the Gage. Cross the bridge and head uphill along the path, following the signposts, to reach a tarmac road (hiking signpost).
(5) Take the road on the left, heading towards Le Cros-de-Géorand via La Chapelle. After about fifty metres, take the road that climbs to the right. After a wide bend, there is a lovely view of the Gage reservoir (currently empty due to works – September 2016). 200 metres before the hamlet of Le Poyet (there are some very beautiful houses to see in the hamlet), take the signposted path on the right which descends through hazel trees and then beech trees, ending at a junction.
(6) At this junction, it’s well worth taking a detour to see the Gouffre de la Vernède. Take the signposted path leading uphill to the left along the Gage, which it overlooks, until you reach a viewpoint overlooking the gours a few dozen metres below.
(7) Turn back and return to the previous fork.
(6) Take the white-and-yellow signposted path down to the left. The descent is quite steep towards the end, then cross the Gage via a footbridge. Climb back up on the opposite side and follow a long, balcony-like traverse.
(8) At the first junction, take the path on the right to descend to the Ruisseau de Sagne-Morte. Ford the stream and climb back up the opposite slope to join a forest track.
(9) At the signpost marked ‘L’Eau’ and ‘La Force’, take a return trip to the right (currently 600 m, 400 m when the dam is full) to explore the other side of the dam. Return to the junction, then head up the opposite slope along the forest track marked in white and yellow through a spruce plantation.
(10) The path becomes grassy as you reach La Chapelle; go through the gate and continue to follow the markings.
Cross a meadow, heading down to the right, then continue to follow the well-marked path, which becomes more difficult before crossing the Boyer stream. Initially, the path climbs gently straight ahead, then more steeply, before reaching the road (picnic tables at the top).
(11) Cross the road, continue towards a house, pass underneath it on the right, then turn left onto the road leading back to the starting village (S/E).
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Easy 
