Passing through Comborn from Estivaux

A beautiful, mostly shaded hike from the Estivaux plateau to the Vézère. Much of the hike is on paths, including theGR®46. Some sections are not marked. The hike offers views of Comborn Castle above the Vézère.

Details

2695843
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.25 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 461 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 459 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 421 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 188 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Étivaux stadium car park.

(S/E) Follow the road alongside the stadium for about 300 metres.

(1) Turn right. Take a short detour to the left across the field to get closer to the dolmen, then continue along the path. Take the road on the left after the first houses.

(2) When you reach the main road at a place called Les Chariots, turn right. Immediately leave the road and take a path that goes straight ahead when it curves slightly to the left. Stay on the main path, continuing straight ahead, passing between several ponds.

(3) At the crossroads in a place called Le Bois Grand, take the winding road opposite.

(4) A little further on, in a slight right-hand bend, take a very faint path on the left. This descends into a field on the edge of the forest and very quickly joins theGR®46(white and red markings).

(5) Turn left, along the hillside. Continue on theGR®46, going around the hamlet of Le Theil on the right.

(6) Just after Le Theil, continue on theGR®46, which branches off to the left when facing the Vézère.

(7) When you reach Chatras, ignore the road on the right and turn right to cross the hamlet towards the Vézère. Continue on theGR®46, descending on the left until you reach the road.

(8) Continue down the road and then follow the Vézère river.

(9) Ignore the path on the left, which will be taken later, and continue to the bridge.

(10) Cross the bridge, follow the road, and just before the last house, take a small path that winds up to the right. Then turn right to go in front of the entrance to Comborn Castle.

(11) Turn around in front of the castle entrance and return to the bridge, either by following the road, keeping to the left (route shown on the map), or by taking the much shorter path.

(10) After the bridge, go up the road on the left between the Vézère and the railway line.

(9) Take the first path on the right, marked in red. Climb through the woods to the departmental road and take it to the right, going uphill. Leave the cemetery on your right and enter the village of Estivaux.

(12) Turn right and walk past the church. Leave theGR® 46 on your right and walk past the town hall and the weighbridge. Then take the discovery trail on the right, which quickly joins theGR®46, which you should follow on the left.
The discovery trail is marked in blue and has a few information panels about the local flora and fauna.

(13) At the three-way junction, keep right on theGR®46(incorrect route on the IGN map). The path on the left takes you to Bounaix more quickly (15).

(14) Continue straight ahead to reach the Bounaix stream. Then retrace your steps and turn right to leave the GR® and join the road at Bounaix.

(15) Leave the blue-marked discovery trail at the top of the hill. Stay on the road instead of turning left and arrive at the departmental road.

(16) Take a short detour by turning right onto this road until you reach a cross. Then turn back as the path is private.

(16) Take the road on the right. At the crossroads, at a place called Le Mons, continue straight ahead on a wide path.

(17) At the crossroads, follow the path on the left and at the fork, take the right-hand branch to reach the dolmen junction.

(1) Continue straight ahead on the road to reach the stadium car park, taking the road on the right (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 397 m - Étivaux stadium car park
  2. 1 : km 0.36 - alt. 411 m - Crossroads of the circular (dolmen)
  3. 2 : km 1.46 - alt. 370 m - Les Chariots
  4. 3 : km 2.66 - alt. 363 m - Le Bois Grand
  5. 4 : km 3.21 - alt. 339 m - Path on the left
  6. 5 : km 3.33 - alt. 336 m - °°GR®°°46
  7. 6 : km 4.18 - alt. 329 m - Le Theil, exit the hamlet
  8. 7 : km 5.12 - alt. 333 m - Chatras, entrance to the hamlet
  9. 8 : km 6.33 - alt. 267 m - Road
  10. 9 : km 7.4 - alt. 197 m - Path junction
  11. 10 : km 7.81 - alt. 192 m - Bridge over the > - Vézère (rivière)
  12. 11 : km 8.27 - alt. 244 m - Entrance to Comborn Castle
  13. 12 : km 11.45 - alt. 343 m - Estivaux
  14. 13 : km 12.14 - alt. 338 m - Three-way junction, right
  15. 14 : km 12.92 - alt. 280 m - Abandon °°GR®°°46
  16. 15 : km 13.87 - alt. 366 m - End of the discovery trail
  17. 16 : km 14.07 - alt. 383 m - Departmental junction
  18. 17 : km 15.44 - alt. 419 m - Crossroads, path on the left
  19. S/E : km 16.25 - alt. 397 m - Étivaux stadium car park

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

4.9 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
sofb66
sofb66

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 01, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike! It has everything: varied landscapes, pretty little villages to discover, and a few pleasant little climbs.
I highly recommend it.

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carl19
carl19

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very good

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CharbiCharbo
CharbiCharbo
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

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Ardechois33
Ardechois33
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 01, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this route again, but this time with a group of 16 hikers.
We set off again from Estivaux town hall square (car parking is available except on Sundays, which is market day) and remember to call the town hall to gain access to the car park toilets.
We experienced all kinds of weather (sun, rain, wind and even hail).
This time, the descent to Bounaix was open (I had checked with the town hall – the secretary gave me a warm welcome) and it's worth taking this route.
Of course, the climb back up to Estivaux (above the railway tunnel) is steep.

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Ardechois33
Ardechois33

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did not start from the stadium but from the town hall car park (the return trip from points AD and 1 is not interesting).
Please note that the descent to Pouch is closed to traffic from point 13, so we went directly to Bounaix (point 15) via a pleasant footpath.
The climb to Comborn Castle is more pleasant via the path than via the road.
My GPS gave me an elevation gain of 440 metres.
The climb from point 9 to point 12 is quite tough but enjoyable.

A very beautiful hike.

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Celineetfrederic
Celineetfrederic

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We really enjoyed this hike: very little road, beautiful peaceful landscapes. The bonus: the person who posted this hike seems to be a lover of the region and suggests many detours to admire the heritage. This makes the route flexible. Of the 16.25 km, we only covered 14.6 km by removing the return trips to points 14 and 16. If you skip the detour to Comborn Castle (which you can see very clearly from the top of the path), you can shorten it even further. This section is mainly on the road and the castle is private. If you picnic at its foot, it has the advantage of being exactly halfway along the route.
There is a small variation possible at point 12 (at Estivaux church): instead of taking the road that passes in front of the town hall, take the blue-marked discovery trail opposite, which also joins the GR 46.
In any case, thank you for sharing this lovely walk.

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