Marsal Grand Circular

This hike allows you to discover the Tarn valley between Albi and Ambialet. You will walk from the plateaus to the banks of the Tarn, discovering pretty villages and the hamlet of Nicolaï Greschny.

Details

266630
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.59 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 354 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 349 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 360 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 184 m

Photos

Description of the walk

The small car park is located on the edge of the D77 and D112 roads near Fabas.

(S/E) The start ofthe GR® trail is at the edge of the car park. Follow theGR® trail (red and white markings) which climbs towards Gougeac. As you climb, leave a path on your right.

(1) At the crossroads of the four roads, turn right. The road becomes a wide forest track that descends straight towards Maurinié Haute. Ignore all the paths you come across. After the chapel, turn left and look for a small path on the right under the trees (you will take this on the way back).

(2) Stay on theGR®36route straight ahead to Marsal, ignoring any crossroads. Pass through the hamlet.

(3) Cross the D172 and continue opposite on theGR®36, which climbs towards La Brandié. It turns right to reach a crossroads.

(4) Stay on theGR®36by turning left. The path climbs through the woods. Quickly pass a path on the right and left. Reach La Brandié.

(5) At the crossroads, leave theGR® by turning right to descend to Puech Mergou.

(6) Before the farm, turn right onto the path along a hedge to return to Marsal (this unmarked section of the path is approximately 1 km long). After 250 m, at the entrance to the forest, ignore the path on the left and continue for another 300 m until you reach the crossroads you passed on the way there.

(4) Continue straight ahead and turn left towards the hamlet.

(3) In Marsal, take the path in the opposite direction towards Maurinié Haut until you reach the path you saw on the way there (before the chapel).

(2) Turn left below the chapel and join a road.

(7) Turn right towards Mauriné Basse. Follow the Tarn until you reach the D172 (yellow markings).

(8) At the edge of the D172, take a sharp right turn to climb above the tunnel. A shaded dirt path parallel to the road branches off to the left and takes you back to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 193 m - Car park D77, D112
  2. 1 : km 1.36 - alt. 357 m - Turn right
  3. 2 : km 3.04 - alt. 211 m - Continue straight ahead
  4. 3 : km 4.34 - alt. 197 m - Cross the D172
  5. 4 : km 4.56 - alt. 216 m - Stay on the GR by turning left
  6. 5 : km 5.42 - alt. 338 m - Turn right
  7. 6 : km 6.14 - alt. 338 m - Turn right
  8. 7 : km 8.68 - alt. 190 m - Turn right - Tarn (rivère)
  9. 8 : km 10.85 - alt. 196 m - Take the hairpin turn to the right
  10. S/E : km 11.59 - alt. 193 m - Car park D77, D112

Worth a visit

Greschny Chapel.
To visit the chapel, ring the bell loudly and Nicolaï Greschny's daughter-in-law will come and open the door for you and explain the interior.
Banks of the Tarn.

 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

4.3 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 22063510

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Difficult to follow the route because there were no markings on the ridge. Pink paint arrows lead to Combe Negre (wrong direction) and then... who knows? We don't know where we're going. After this first attempt on the route and with the map, it might be easier for me to follow the right route.

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Jean-Luc Walker
Jean-Luc Walker

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike.

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dourel
dourel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

From the start in Gougeac, there are no red and white markings. Follow the yellow markings.
A very beautiful hill that requires a good effort for 30 minutes, with
beautiful panoramic views.

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grosselin
grosselin

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Apart from a few uninteresting (but unavoidable) sections on the road, the route is quite interesting. Worth promoting.

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pyrene12
pyrene12

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you Madydou for this beautiful circular offering many landscapes and which, in addition, passes through La Maurinié and Marsal where you can see works by Nicolaï Greschny.
Just a small comment (if I may): at the start, it says to follow the red and white GR markings to reach Gougeac. On the ground, the climb to Gougeac is marked in yellow, not red and white. I have the impression that the GR route has been modified recently and now runs alongside the Tarn. Between point 7 and the finish, there has been significant work done to clear the undergrowth and mark the route (red and white GR markings).
In any case, thank you for this great walk!

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Labarrere Sylviane
Labarrere Sylviane

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful hike. One small difficult section with poor visibility: the path before the farm is not easy to find, as it is rarely used: there were brambles and no one had been there for a long time.

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robert81300
robert81300

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

the markings on the ground are not perfect; you need to pay close attention, especially when navigating between two routes, the GR 36 and the Marsal circular.
After a varied route, there are some lovely views.

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MichelRando56
MichelRando56

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 06, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Congratulations, I am a hiking guide in a club. This is my first hike with a map and GPS track from Visorando.
I am really very satisfied. It was a beautiful hike, varied, with stunning scenery, a very good guidebook, accurate tracking and, as a bonus, the opportunity to do a bit of culture with a visit to the small museum in La Mauriniée with Mr Greschny himself.
thank you.

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sev1708
sev1708

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant and varied hike today in the sunshine.
Still quite muddy in places, but nothing insurmountable, and beautiful shades of green as a result.
Beautiful views overlooking the Tarn valley.
We particularly liked the Les Chouquettes lodge near the end of the hike. Magnificent view from the lodge.
Thank you for the GPX track, which was essential for this walk

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nuscor
nuscor
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello

The gloomy weather forecast didn't discourage us! And we were right not to let it, because we discovered this magnificent route under beautiful sunshine. It was slightly hilly but nothing too challenging, alternating between bucolic walks along the banks of the Tarn and plateaus with magnificent 360° views.
Given the uncertain weather, we set off from the village of Marsal, which meant we could do just a circular if necessary! (This was the option I had chosen during my reconnaissance at the end of December)
The advantage is that we had 4.5 km of flat ground before tackling the first fairly steep climb, and the return leg of the second circular was downhill.
Take time to admire the magnificent hamlet of "La Maurinié Haute" with its old chapel, sculptures, frescoes and offset bell tower! A restoration project from the 1950s by Nicolaï Greschny that is sure to impress!

Highly recommended
Best regards
Jean Cornus

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nuscor
nuscor

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 27, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,
Strangely enough, I downloaded this track at least a year ago, and after point 6 at the entrance to the forest, it makes me turn left at a hairpin bend, which I did even though the wide path continues straight ahead!
So I had to make a circular detour of 760 metres to get back to the current path. (120 metres after the fork to the left!) This section is no longer used because the vegetation has taken over!
I therefore think that other hikers must have reported this problem and that the route has been modified in the meantime, which is a very good thing!
That said, it's a beautiful route that combines a bucolic walk along the banks of the Tarn, challenging climbs (at this time of year) and a superb stroll along the ridges.
One comment: 600 m after the start of the GR climb, instead of turning right, I would continue on this GR to reach Geaujac. The climb to the right is entirely through forest and is of no particular interest to my
.
I have planned it for March with my hiking club. 11.7 km and 424 m of elevation gain.
(FYI, I messed up and started from Marsal, but that doesn't change anything)
Kind regards
JC

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rbor1000
rbor1000

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 26, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello, I did this hike yesterday and thought it was great. However, I downloaded the description and route several months ago, and I see that the current one has been slightly modified. The distance is 11.59 km instead of 12.25 km, the time is 4 hours 10 minutes instead of 4 hours 25 minutes, and the elevation gain is slightly different. I think the distance is closer to 12.25 km, and the time is a little less than 4 hours without rushing. The route and description are reliable. Thank you to the site administrators

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PACHAMAMA
PACHAMAMA

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Interesting route. No particular difficulties

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PACHAMAMA
PACHAMAMA

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Interesting route. No particular difficulties

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Kermitine
Kermitine

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 26, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

The Tarn region has beautiful scenery.

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