Two Puechs south of Albi

A varied hike between hills (les Puechs) and valleys in the woods and fields south of Albi. You will explore the Albi countryside via several hiking trails (PR®) and unmarked connecting routes.

Details

1355311
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.65 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 332 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 323 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 271 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 168 m

Description of the walk

Car park at Le Sequestre town hall.

(S/E) With your back to the town hall, take Avenue Marcel Pagnol, heading due east, following the yellow markings ofthe PR® "Sentier des Crêtes" trail.

(1) After thesecond roundabout, turn right onto a path between the houses and continue for 50 metres.

(2) Turn left onto the road for 50 metres, then right onto Rue de Pendariès. Atthe first crossroads, go straight ahead into Impasse de Gouderle, which continues along a grassy path.

(3) Turn right. Enter the woods and climb, following the yellow markings.
At an intersection: you can go to an orientation table on the right (view of Albi and the Tarn valley). Otherwise, turn left and follow the sign for "Parcours du Soleil". Walk along the solar panel field (several educational panels).
When you reach the ridge path, turn right towards La Gardie.

(4) Fork in the road. Continue on to Puech de la Gardie.

(5) Continue straight ahead, following the yellow markings for thePR® "Sentier des Crêtes" trail.

(6) Before the water tower, descend to the left onto thePR® "Chemin de Carlus" trail, then turn right halfway down the slope.

(7) At the crossroads, turn left onto the Route de Terssac, cross the Carrofoul stream, then turn right onto the Chemin de Campége.

(8) At a copse, descend to the right towards the Rieumas valley, then turn left along the field (do not descend towards the stream).

(9) Turn right at the intersection of the paths and cross the Rieumas.

(10) At the fork, follow the gravel path on the right, which climbs gradually. This is thePR® "Route du Puech de Mourens" marked in yellow.

(11) Turn left towards Puech de Mourens.

(12) Before leaving the woods, turn left towards the summit of Puech: signs say "no motorised vehicles" and "protected archaeological site". Once at the summit, descend opposite via a well-marked but sometimes steep path towards Rieumas. Join a wide path that leads back to the right to the bridge over the stream.

(10) Cross the stream again and, at the next fork, continue right along the tarmac road towards La Malayé. Join thePR® "Sentier de Carlus" trail, marked in yellow.

(13) Go around La Malayé on the right and follow the path along the hillside towards the village of Carlus.

(14) Go around the stadium towards the gymnasium (toilets and water point), cross the D27 to climb towards Puech de Carlus.

(15) Go around the Puech, turning right towards Vergnes and Labourgade. Cross the housing estate.

(16) At Impasse de Fabré, descend to the right towards the Carrofoul valley and La Mouline.

(17) After La Mouline, turn left onto a path that climbs diagonally towards the ridge path to reach the Puech de la Gardie crossroads.

(5) When you reach the ridge path, turn right to return to the crossroads you passed at the start.

(4) Turn left opposite a gate and some abandoned buildings. Enter the woods by taking the well-marked paths that descend (caution: there are many intersecting paths). When you reach the road, turn left and then right onto Avenue Jean Giono to return to the car park at Le Séquestre town hall (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 178 m - Departure from the Town Hall car park.
  2. 1 : km 0.26 - alt. 177 m - Path between the houses.
  3. 2 : km 0.41 - alt. 182 m - Rue de Pendariès
  4. 3 : km 0.98 - alt. 213 m - Entrance to the woods
  5. 4 : km 2.25 - alt. 244 m - Crossroads abandoned building
  6. 5 : km 2.51 - alt. 242 m - Puech de la Gardie
  7. 6 : km 3.27 - alt. 227 m - Carlus path
  8. 7 : km 4.51 - alt. 168 m - Terssac road
  9. 8 : km 5.18 - alt. 199 m - Towards the Rieumas valley
  10. 9 : km 6.31 - alt. 196 m - Towards the bridge over the Rieumas
  11. 10 : km 6.68 - alt. 190 m - Puech de Mourens crossroads
  12. 11 : km 7.64 - alt. 212 m - Ascent to Puech de Mourens
  13. 12 : km 8.58 - alt. 253 m - Towards the summit of Puech
  14. 13 : km 10.2 - alt. 230 m - La Malayé
  15. 14 : km 11.78 - alt. 236 m - Carlus Stadium and gymnasium
  16. 15 : km 12.84 - alt. 238 m - Towards Labourgade
  17. 16 : km 13.72 - alt. 224 m - Descent towards La Mouline
  18. 17 : km 14.43 - alt. 184 m - Return to the ridge.
  19. S/E : km 16.65 - alt. 178 m - Car park at the Séquestre Town Hall.

Notes

Relatively easy route with some steep sections in the woods: good footwear recommended!
The two descents into the woods are not marked and many paths have been created: choose the best marked ones towards the bottom of the woods.
At the Carlus gymnasium: toilets and water supply.

Worth a visit

Wide view of the valleys from the ridge path.
Panorama of Albi at the orientation table (optional).
Photovoltaic field with information panels.

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.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
ha-thai81
ha-thai81

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I would like to thank JAB31 for creating this fun hike with its zigzag route around the Carofoul stream, leading to two peaks and returning along the same path. We went in January with our boots full of mud, but we are hikers who can handle it. It's still a hike on the outskirts of Albi at the start, but very quickly you find yourself in the countryside, so it's acceptable. The return trip is a bit hazardous on the descents back to La Mairie du Sequestre, where you can easily park in the car park.
Signed by two warriors of the great trails.

Machine-translated

bernardmercier
bernardmercier

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Return to the field of unmarked photovoltaic panels and difficult path as it has not been cleared

Machine-translated

jab31
jab31

Hello!

Go around La Mayale on the right and leave La Malaye on the left—it's exactly the same thing!

Machine-translated

JamyAlbi
JamyAlbi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
There appears to be an error in the route description:
(13) Go around Malayé on the right
You should leave Malayé on your left

Otherwise,

Machine-translated

jab31
jab31

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,

I've done this hike for the fifth or sixth time and I still love it! I made a slight variation that shortens it a bit (15.5 km). After point 8, cross the Rieumas opposite (this is the Puech de Mourens path) and you'll find the trail again in the woods as you climb.
The summit of Puech (point 12) still has signs prohibiting quad bikes and motorbikes. The excavation sign is there, but they haven't made any progress in five years! If these signs impress you, you can take a lower path to rejoin the route (but not the summit of Puech!). To descend towards Rieumas, there are several possible routes: either directly east, but the slope is steep, or first south-east, descending more gradually!

Machine-translated

randohc31
randohc31

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

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

Beautiful views of the Albi countryside, pleasant paths through the woods. At point 12, near the signs for "archaeological site etc.", be sure to take the unmarked path immediately to the left towards the top of the hill and do not follow the yellow markings which continue straight ahead. There are many paths that criss-cross each other to climb up and down the other side.

Machine-translated

SUDREY94
SUDREY94

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A fine combination of several PRs

Machine-translated

BalArcens
BalArcens

I didn't want to go into further detail, but in response to jab31's reply, we met two people who are familiar with the area:
- the restrictions were put in place following abuse by motor vehicles
- in principle, the owner has nothing against hikers
- they laughed at the idea of excavations (indeed, there is a large hole that has clearly not been visited for a very long time)
- however, the owner has put in place some equipment (ladders, cables, etc.) and I think he is protecting himself against the risk of accidents.
Michel

Machine-translated

jab31
jab31

Hello,

Yes, you can shorten this hike: cut it between 8 and 11 or between 9 and 13! Everyone can adapt the hike to suit their own preferences.
Personally, I usually set my routes between 17 and 20 km!

Second comment: there are indeed several recent prohibition signs! to reach the summit of the puech. I think they mainly concern quad bikes and motorbikes because, for pedestrians, the archaeological excavation areas are protected by barrier tape.
You can follow the path as indicated before the path to the hill, but you cannot go to the summit!
I will find out more about this prohibition and, if necessary, I will modify the route.

One observation, however: there is a tendency towards prohibitions! Hikers rarely cause damage to the landscape or the environment!

Best regards

jab31

Machine-translated

BalArcens
BalArcens

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Thank you for this deposit.
- possibility of going directly from point 8 to point 11: saving 2 km
- Point 12: in addition to the sign prohibiting vehicle access, there is another sign prohibiting all access. As we have to return with a group, we cut through this area by taking the path (yellow and red crosses) that starts about 500 m before point 12.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.