Longer route via Château d'Illins from Villette-de-Vienne

A lovely walk, mainly through woodland above Villette de Vienne, climbing up to the Col de Bel Air. This walk is very pleasant in hot weather. It offers a beautiful view of the Alps and the Pilat.

Details

86563869
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.86 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 656 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 715 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,086 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 666 ft

Description of the walk

Maison des associations car park, Villette-de-Vienne.

(S/E) Head up Rue de la Forge to the right and turn right at the first junction onto Chemin du Molaret.

(1) Just after the Béal de Servanay stream, take the path on the left and follow the stream. Continue to the second junction on the left.

(2) Take a short, steep slope to the left, leaving the stream behind, and continue uphill until you rejoin the stream further up and follow it.

(3) Turn left and descend the steep section, then cross the stream and reach the Col de Bel Air road without taking it.

(4) At the pass, at elevation 324, continue along the road, ignoring the road to the left, then take the first path on the right until you reach a junction towards the Bois de Fauries.

(5) Turn left onto it and follow the sheep track north-east, then north. Pass under a power line and arrive at a fork at elevation 306, just before the water tower.

(7) Turn right, heading south, passing under the power lines again. Follow another track on your left for 300 metres, then turn right for 150 metres until you reach a fork at elevation 319.

(8) Turn left and head downhill (steep section) to the Béal de Servanay stream.

(9) Take a sharp right-hand bend, follow the stream upstream on the left bank, cross it and continue to the first path on the right.

(10) Follow this track south-west until you reach a road just before the Ferme de Château.

(11) Turn right onto this road, pass the farm and continue to the Château d’Illins.

(11) Head back down to the right, go round the hamlet of Le Molaret on the left and rejoin the Béal de Servanay stream.

(1) Follow the route back along the opposite side of the path you took on the way there until you reach the car park at the Maison des associations (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 725 ft - Maison des associations car park - Église (Villette-de-Vienne)
  2. 1 : mi 0.35 - alt. 722 ft - Béal de Servanay stream
  3. 2 : mi 0.59 - alt. 748 ft - Junction
  4. 3 : mi 0.98 - alt. 748 ft - Junction
  5. 4 : mi 1.88 - alt. 1,063 ft - Bel Air Pass
  6. 5 : mi 2.21 - alt. 1,056 ft - Junction towards the Bois de Fauries
  7. 6 : mi 3.26 - alt. 1,004 ft - Water tower
  8. 7 : mi 3.84 - alt. 1,047 ft - Junction at elevation 319
  9. 8 : mi 4.51 - alt. 833 ft - Beal de Servanay (torrent) - Affluent de la Sévenne
  10. 9 : mi 4.93 - alt. 1,040 ft - Junction towards Illins Castle
  11. 10 : mi 5.66 - alt. 948 ft - Road junction - Chapelle Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Illins)
  12. 11 : mi 6 - alt. 922 ft - Château d'Illins
  13. S/E : mi 6.86 - alt. 666 ft - Maison des associations car park - Église (Villette-de-Vienne)

Worth a visit

(11) Château d'Illins.

Reviews and comments

3.9 / 5
Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
3.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
4 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
FST
FST

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

TB during a heatwave.

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Jobb
Jobb

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk, with plenty of welcome shade during this very hot spell.
It’s easy to follow the route.
Personally, I rely almost entirely on GPS tracking, which helps avoid getting led astray, especially when the vegetation is dense.

Machine-translated

Le Dex
Le Dex

At 8, the descent is clearly signposted:
(8) Turn left and head downhill (steep section) to the Béal de Servanay stream.

At 9, the hairpin bend is clearly signposted on the right
(9) Take the hairpin bend to the right, r

The starting point is clearly marked as it is the car park at the Maison des Associations on Rue de la Forge.

Machine-translated

Le Dex
Le Dex

I’ll correct the pin to 9;
The starting point does indeed exist, as ‘++’ refers to the car park at the Maison des Associations on Rue de la Forge.

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philmomi
philmomi

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 21, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The description makes no mention of any difficulties:

  • immediately after point 3, a very narrow and steep section is not marked
  • at point 8, a particularly steep descent is almost like rock climbing
  • at point 9, the description states to make a hairpin bend to the left, whereas you should do the opposite
  • the route is described as wooded and recommended during hot weather, yet long sections through the forest are exposed due to logging operations.
  • And finally, the car park at the start/finish point no longer exists, having been replaced by a basketball court

In short, a disappointing hike.

Machine-translated

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