From Essalois to Les Camaldules

Date of your route : Mar 02, 2026
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 offering superb views of the Loire Gorges. It is a pity, however, that we cannot get closer to what appears to be a chapel. The castle opposite seemed to me to be the Château de Grangent. One or two information boards would be welcome. (I am not from the region.)

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Date of your route : Nov 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Nice route, but as the Camaldules are now private property, I ended up in front of a gate and didn't get the views I was hoping for.

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Date of your route : Oct 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike, especially in autumn, through chestnut and beech forests with stunning views. At the end of the trail, you walk along the magnificent gorges!

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Date of your route : Feb 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

However, at point 2, there is no Chamousset cross? And at point 4, take the small path on the right before the undergrowth, which avoids entering the hamlet of La Garde, which is not very interesting and very busy.

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

A fairly short but challenging route starting from Les Camaldules, as the trail follows the rocky ridges overlooking the dam. It offers magnificent views. It's a shame that Les Camaldules is private property.

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Date of your route : Aug 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I did part of this walk in the opposite direction with my 14-year-old son: we parked in the designated car park, walked 100 metres along the dirt road towards the castle, took a path on the right that crosses La Garde and leads to the ridge above the Loire, and descended to Les Camaldules.

The path on this ridge is probably more pleasant going downhill (nicer view), but is a little more difficult (slippery gravel). Halfway along, you have to go around a rocky overhang on the inside. This could be done going uphill, but only if you are very experienced (this is the difficulty noted in another hiker's review).

Lunch on the banks of the Loire after the Camaldules. Then climb back up to the castle via a wide, stony path with no particular interest. Small but nice castle. Very pretty view.

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Date of your route : Apr 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Enjoy your walk, but make sure you wear good shoes as the path is stony and sloping. Beautiful views of the Loire Gorges.

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Hello,

Thank you for your feedback.

But later on, we lost him for quite a while and started climbing some rocky escarpments that were borderline dangerous.

For your information, in addition to the description and the 1:25,000 IGN map, Visorando provides virtual signposting: a GPS application.

This tool, offered free of charge by Visorando, allows you to validate waypoints and thus remove any doubts about the route.

Best regards

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Date of your route : Mar 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Nice route, but it's easy to get lost and the terrain isn't always easy. The descent from Essalois to Les Camadules is quite rocky. Bring walking sticks and take care. After that, the path through the forest is easy to find at the start, but later on we lost it for quite a while and started climbing rocky escarpments that were borderline dangerous. We almost turned back... Otherwise, the view is very pleasant. Further on, as we approached La Garde (probably?), we couldn't find the path indicated in the description and, fearing we would get lost as curfew approached, we took a shortcut to find the path to Essalois. Overall, the description lacks precision at key points.

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

We set off from Chambles, at the car park at the entrance to the village. A very interesting route with the castle and the hamlet, formerly a hermitage, of Les Calmadules. Superb views over the Loire gorges.

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Date of your route : Jun 02, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

What a lovely walk!
The views of the Loire are superb
You can do it over and over again and never tire of it

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Date of your route : Mar 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant walk under an early spring blue sky, accompanied by birdsong.
We set off from the Chambles car park, which makes the walk a little longer, but in the opposite direction, allowing us to enjoy magnificent views of the gorges and the port of St Victor on the way down.

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Date of your route : Feb 24, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Start the walk before the castle. The path is very rocky, so make sure you wear good walking shoes!
Towards the end of the walk, we weren't sure how to get back to the car park! So, take the flat path on the right with a large meadow on your right and you will see a water treatment plant. Take the small path that passes in front of it and climb up until you reach the road, then go down to the right to return to the car park!
As keen walkers, we really enjoyed this walk with its superb views and magnificent weather. Thank you to the person who posted it, because without these explanations we would never have ventured out!

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Date of your route : Dec 30, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The Calmaldules path was too muddy and dangerous at this time of year, and what's more, it led to private property, which we didn't think was worth visiting, so we took a different route! We also took Marie L15's comment into account.
because the tower of Chambles is worth seeing, we also wanted to go to Notre Dame des Graces, but it was more than private!

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Date of your route : Jun 02, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this hike in the opposite direction, starting from Chambles (whose tower, church and view of the gorges are well worth a visit).

Descend from Chambles via a small road through fields that heads north, initially tarmac, then gravel. At the cross, ignore the path on the left towards La Garde and continue straight ahead. The road, then path, descends towards Les Camaldules. Rocky passages without difficulty, beautiful views of the Loire. Les Camaldules is unfortunately private property, which is a shame because the place, seen from the river, is charming. Head back up towards the château via a path that is just passable by car, then continue towards La Garde and eastwards to find the cross and the path back to Chambles.

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