Between the Causse and the valley via Montvalent

Start from the car park opposite the Montvalent cemetery, alongside the D840, near kilometre marker no. 68.

(S/E) Cross the D840 carefully and turn left. Follow this road for about a hundred metres, then take the^first road (one-way) leading down to the right, until you reach the next junction.

(1) Ignore the Résurgence Saint-Georges car park on your right and carry on straight ahead. Cross the small bridge over the Ruisseau de Saint-Georges and note the resurgence of the Gouffre de Padirac on your left. Leave the path on your left – marked in white, red and yellow, which is the return route – and continue along the tarmac road to the Moulin du Lombard (private property).

(2) Follow the path – which is a no-entry road – between the cliff and the mill. Note the reservoir filling with water from a resurgence of the Padirac. Continue to the next junction.

(3) Turn left, heading towards the^first houses of Montvalent and the junction with the fountain-chapel on your right.

(4) Retrace your steps for about ten metres, then take the dirt track – closed to motorised off-road vehicles – which climbs alongside the wall of a small house (yellow markings). Follow this track, keeping to the right. Pass through the hamlet of Gautié and arrive at a crossroads.

(5) Turn right towards La Boissière (dead end), walk for about a hundred metres, then turn onto the path on the left. Next, cross the road and continue straight ahead along a dry-stone wall and a hedge. Carry on along a road until you reach a four-way junction.

(6) Turn right towards Pouilloux and, at the three-way junction, turn right again towards Courtemassole. Carry on until you reach the^first path on the left.

(7) Take this track, head uphill and pass through the hamlet of Pouilloux. Turn right onto the track just past the last house, and join the tarmac road.

(8) Continue to the right, pass through the hamlet of Bendou and arrive at the edge of the forest.

(9) Turn left and carry on straight ahead (white-and-red markings) until you reach a road.

(10) Turn right onto Chemin de Pétasse (leaving the white-and-red markings), and follow it to the end.

(11) Turn left and follow the departmental road with care. Go round the bend to the right, cross over, take the grassy path on the right and carry on until you reach a multi-way junction.

(12) Carry on straight ahead, then, at the next fork, turn left, pass in front of an iron sculptor’s workshop, and reach another fork.

(13) Turn right, then cross the road and take the path opposite, veering slightly to the left, towards Le Colombier. Walk for about 500 m, then turn onto the^second path on the right. Continue straight ahead along this path until you reach the first houses of Montvalent.

(14) Turn slightly left, then carry on straight ahead to the Malbernat viewpoint (red-and-white markings).

(15) From the viewpoint, take the road leading down towards the village, then turn right (Rue de la Poutine), and you’ll reach the junction opposite the War Memorial.

(16) Cross the road to see the castle, the tower and the church, then head left towards the car park on the main road (D840). After the car park, turn immediately left onto the local track leading to the Dordogne. Walk downhill until you rejoin the route you took earlier, then turn right.

(1) At the junction by the Résurgence Saint-George car park, continue straight ahead and, following the route in the opposite direction to the outward journey, head for the car park opposite Montvalent cemetery, on the edge of the D840 (S/E).