Caves, streams, waterfalls and chasms starting from Ordonnaz.

This hike, starting from Ordonnaz, will take you on a journey of discovery through beautiful natural surroundings and caves. Along the way, you will enjoy beautiful views of the villages of Marchamp and Cerin. You will pass through the village of Lompnas, then the Gros Pertuis stream. You will enjoy the potholes and the magnificent Brive waterfall. Finally, you will pass by the remains of the past, old mills, and end up at the Morgne chasm.

Details

3358198
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 23.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 9h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 787 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 781 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 941 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 375 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the car park near the bus shelter in the village of Ordonnaz.

(S/E) Turn left onto the CD 94 towards Lompnas. You will reach a large hairpin bend. Turn left onto the yellow-marked path that leads to Combe d'Innimond. You will soon come to a crossroads.

(1) Turn right, following the yellow markings. Then enter the woods to find another fork in the path.

(2) Continue on the left branch. Exit the woods and, in the clearing, you will reach a multiple crossroads where several trails meet: yellow, orange and the Assise trail. Continue straight ahead to reach the Moïlda Cave. To do this, go straight across the meadow and take the small gully further on. Reach the edge of the woods on the right to find the entrance to the cave.

(3) With your back to the cave entrance, turn right into the meadow to reach the stony path. Follow it to the right until you reach the next crossroads. Turn right onto the path marked in blue and follow the signs for Lompnas. You will reach another T-junction.

(4) Continue to the right and follow the sign for "Lompnas 3.3 km". Ignore the three paths branching off to the left. At the next crossroads, follow the blue markings to the left, signposted "Lompnas 2.5 km". A little further on, ignore the white ribbon tied around a tree. It marks a barely visible path on the left. Follow the blue dots painted on the trees to reach a path. Turn left and continue to the entrance to the Grotte de la Jacquette.

(5) Retrace your steps and follow the path to the intersection with the Lompnas gravel road. Turn left. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead to the viewpoint, signposted.

(6) Retrace your steps. Continue left on the path, still marked in blue, to reach the village of Lompnas.

(7) Cross the main street and then take Rue de Gravignoli. Atthe second crossroads, turn left into Impasse de la Maladière. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead. At the next crossroads, leave the path on the right. Then continue straight ahead and ignore the dead end on the right.
Just after the bridge over the Ruisseau du Gros Pertuis, take the small path on the left and follow the stream. Here you will see pretty potholes and small tufa waterfalls. Retrace your steps back to the bridge and continue along the path on the left.

(8) At the hairpin bend to the left, go through the fence and follow the path to reach the pretty turquoise waterfall. Retrace your steps and continue on the path to the right. Turn right at the next crossroads and follow the yellow markings. At the metal barrier, go right and follow the Ruisseau de la Brive stream, following the yellow markings. After the ruins of the mill, stay on the path to the left.

(9) Descend to the large waterfall, then continue along the path to a small car park. Leave the yellow markings and take the path on the right, marked with grangeons*. Join the small tarmac road, continue to the right and then right again, 120 m further on, onto the grassy path that climbs up to the hamlet of Chosaz.

(10) Continue left along the main street. After the "50 rappel" sign, turn right onto the grassy path and then, a little further on, take the path climbing up to the right. At the stony track, veer left and walk to the entrance to a pasture. Follow the hedge to the end of the meadow and then join a stony path on the right. Turn right. You will come to a crossroads marked by a cross.

(11) Continue straight ahead to reach the cemetery in the village of Lompnas. Turn left and follow the signs for "Chanaux 3.3 km". You will soon reach the crossroads at a farm.
Walk to the right towards Bois de la Morgne 2.5 km, then further up the hill towards Ordonnaz 5 km, and finally towards La Rivolière 4.7 km. Follow the poorly maintained path to the fence, which you should follow to the right. Return to the main path.

(12) Turn left to enter the woods, heading north. Stay on this path to reach the Gouffre de la Morgue crossroads after a right-hand bend.

(13) Turn left to reach this chasm.

(14) Gouffre de la Morgue. Retrace your steps to the previous crossroads.

(13) Turn left, continue straight ahead and reach the edge of the woods.

(15) Walk along the edge of the woods, then enter the woods again. Continue, ignoring a path on the right, to reach the crossroads of the path you took on the way there.

(2) Turn left and follow the same route as on the way out, following the yellow markings.

(1) Leave the yellow markings and take the path on the right. Continue until you reach the Renaudière crossroads and theGRP® de Lhuis et d'Izieu. Turn left and follow the red and yellow markings to return to the car park near the Ordonnaz bus shelter (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 857 m - Car park near the Ordonnaz bus shelter.
  2. 1 : km 1.34 - alt. 848 m - 1st crossroads of the circular loop
  3. 2 : km 2.05 - alt. 902 m - 2nd crossroads on the circular loop
  4. 3 : km 3.3 - alt. 871 m - Moïlda Cave
  5. 4 : km 4.59 - alt. 886 m - T-junction
  6. 5 : km 5.78 - alt. 811 m - La Jacquette Cave
  7. 6 : km 6.48 - alt. 818 m - Viewpoint
  8. 7 : km 8.29 - alt. 638 m - Lompnas
  9. 8 : km 10.78 - alt. 443 m - Waterfall with turquoise waters
  10. 9 : km 11.4 - alt. 397 m - Large waterfall at - Brive (rivière)
  11. 10 : km 13.59 - alt. 548 m - Chosas
  12. 11 : km 14.83 - alt. 677 m - Crossroads
  13. 12 : km 16.28 - alt. 716 m - Wooden crossroads
  14. 13 : km 18.69 - alt. 845 m - Carrefour Gouffre
  15. 14 : km 18.94 - alt. 854 m - Gouffre d ela Morgue
  16. 15 : km 20.27 - alt. 837 m - Edge of the woods
  17. S/E : km 23.55 - alt. 860 m - Car park near the Ordonnaz bus shelter.

Notes

You can refill your water bottles at the Lompnas Town Hall School.
(E) In Ordonnaz, you can buy cheese and various regional products at the dairy, behind the car park, on the right about 200 m away.

  • In Bugey, a grangeon is an old temporary dwelling used for wine-making, built on a plot of vines. (Wikipedia).

Worth a visit

(3) The Moïlda cave is reserved for speleologists.
(5) The Jacquette cave is open to beginners.
(S/E) At the end or beginning of your hike, as you make your way down to the village of Ordonnaz, you can visit the12th-century St-Antoine church and admire the remarkable Sully lime tree. In the centre of the village, the cheese dairy museum is open to visitors free of charge.

Reviews and comments

4.2 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 3506085

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful trail, fairly shaded, especially in the first section, which is a little more exposed on the climb up to Chosaz. Beautiful meadows surrounded by woods at the start.
It was impossible to reach the Grotte de la Jaquette (the path was impossible to find, too many brambles?), but the main trail rejoins the track a little further on and leads to a magnificent, well-ventilated viewpoint (very pleasant in August) above Lompnas.
Allow 12 km and only 200 m of elevation gain (almost all downhill) to reach the pools and waterfalls.
Once you've passed the car park next to the waterfalls, you'll have 12 km and 600 m of elevation gain left to climb.
The path is rockier and sunnier, which will give your cardio a workout ;-)
The path that branches off to the right in Chosaz is almost completely hidden by vegetation. Ideally, you should turn right as soon as you reach the tarmac, then take the first path that climbs up to the left and will bring you back to the trail, but go all the way to the village fountain to cool off before retracing your steps a little.
On the way back to Lompas, there is a small bench near the cemetery where you can enjoy a picnic in the shade of a low wall.
A little later, heading towards the Gouffre de la Morgne, be careful: the wooden sign indicating Ordonnaz 5km is misleading.

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Cyloupb
Cyloupb

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An interesting route for rivers and waterfalls. GPS is essential because all the paths in the forest look alike and there are many of them. Completed in 7 hours and 20 minutes at a leisurely pace.
Thank you for the walk.

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rdub
rdub

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike at the start of spring. The route is varied with beautiful views and very little tarmac. Of course, at the risk of repeating some of the comments, the large Brive waterfall is very popular, but there are so many other beautiful spots along the river where you can enjoy a picnic!
At this time of year, nature has not yet taken over certain paths, making it easier to follow the route. Nevertheless, a GPS is still essential to avoid mistakes.
Thanks to the author.

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christophenicolas
christophenicolas

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful, shaded and refreshing circular route in its first section. Magnificent meadows at the start will lead you through the undergrowth to the stream (just before the waterfall), which offers magnificent and generous natural jacuzzis. The elevation gain is on the last part of the route.
PLEASE NOTE: nature has reclaimed its rights / GPX track:

/area map (5-6) a little messy. To get to the "grotte de la jaquette" (cave), the GPX track veers off to the left of the main path, so you'll need to follow your instincts through the undergrowth.
/area map (10-11) invisible and overgrown path. On leaving the village of "Chosas" on your right, take a path that becomes difficult to follow and runs along the hillside for about 1 km. Trying to keep to the power line, you should arrive at the top of a field with a cross, marked (11) on the map, and find the main path again.
/map area (12) start of the invisible path. On the carriage road at point 12, on your left, at the end of the bend, you will find the start of the path in the undergrowth.

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ColROND
ColROND

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful hike, very shady.
A little confusion between points 11 and 12 at the "Ordonnaz 5 km" sign. We couldn't find the path (poorly maintained on the left) and, continuing on the right, we ended up on the tarmac road, then rejoined the route at the right-angle bend, as advised in the review dated 26 May 2021 by Chelouche Hélène.

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Thelonious
Thelonious

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This is the second time I've done this hike. It's a really interesting route with beautiful views, although it was a bit crowded at the waterfall this time, which is to be expected on a Sunday with a car park nearby...
To avoid crossing the fields in Chosas, where it's not easy to find the trail, take the first road on the right and you'll immediately see the trail on the left after the transformer:


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Thelonious
Thelonious
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This is the second time I've done this hike. It's a really interesting route with beautiful views, although it was a bit crowded at the waterfall this time, which is to be expected on a Sunday with a car park nearby...
To avoid crossing the fields in Chosas, where it's not easy to find the trail, take the first road on the right and you'll immediately see the trail on the left after the transformer:

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chelouche helene
chelouche helene

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello
For your information, I left Lompnas to explore part of the route and, above all, to locate the Morgne chasm.
No problem from the farm, except that at one point, the AIN had put up signs and the Ordonnaz sign first led us into a field, which we crossed without any trouble, only to discover an unused and therefore uncleared path. No matter, we found our way back to the main path leading to the chasm.
It's best to stay on the path to the right above La Teille towards Chanaux, but be careful, you have to get to the road and the sharp corner of the bend to find the wooden sign for Bois de la Morgne.
Helene

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