The Ardiale loop

Starting from the village centre, this beautiful loop takes you north of the village through a varied landscape of hills to the hamlet of Ardialle and through Saint-Jean before climbing back up to Puylaurens. Can be done on foot or by mountain bike. Yellow markings.

Details

3000034
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.12 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 278 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 278 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 353 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 204 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Puylaurens (81700)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 43.570879° / E 2.01313°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 2243E
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Park on Place du Foirail in Puylaurens.

(S/E) Go back up to Place du Ravelin via the stairs, head towards Avenue de Toulouse, turn left to reach the pedestrian crossing in front of the grain market and cross. Walk up towards the church along Rue de la République, passing the Tourist Office and the Town Hall, then turn left onto Rue Foulimou. Walk through the old village and, at the bottom of the Foulimou bridge, turn right onto the D92 road to Vielmur. Continue carefully along this road for about 150 metres.

(1) At the corner of a shop window, turn left down the path, which becomes grassy. Cross the tarmac road at Barrau and continue straight ahead along the path towards Pratmoure. Follow the markings along the grassy path.

(2) After Pratmoure, at the three-way junction (not shown on the map), turn right towards the hamlet of Les Imbertariés. Cross it, turning right, and continue to the crossroads.

(3) Cross the crossroads with caution and continue straight ahead on the road to climb up towards Bellevue. Ignore the path on the left, leave the Castrais-style dovecote with a lantern on your right and continue straight ahead through the woods: stay on the path as the dovecote is on private property. Then turn right at the corner of the woods to go around it.

(4) Make a sharp left turn, take a gravel path for a few metres, then turn onto a grassy, shaded path opposite. Cross the culvert to reach the tarmac road at an S-bend.

(5) After the right-hand bend, continue along the road to the next crossroads. Turn right, then immediately left and pass in front of La Mouline towards En Béral d'Ardialle. Once in the hamlet, continue on the left, cross the stream and continue to the church.

(6) Turn right and go straight down to the junction with the D92 (Puylaurens-Vielmur). Carefully follow this road on the right for about 30 metres.

(7) After the stream, take the dirt track on the left which climbs, runs alongside a wood and then crosses another. At the end, follow the hedge at the edge of the field and continue to the tarmac road.

(8) Follow the road to the right until you reach the D92.

(9) Turn left onto the D92, follow it carefully for 200 metres, then turn right at the crossroads towards Saint-Jean. Pass the church and cemetery, cross the hamlet and turn left with the road to reach a T-junction. Take the road on the left towards Alric and pass the hamlet.

(10) Take the grassy path on the right, follow the stream and climb the hill to go around the lake. After the footbridge, cross the Cante Rossignol woods, follow the meadow and fields, then take the sunken path to reach the Route de Vielmur (D92).

(11) Cross the departmental road, head back up towards Puylaurens by taking the stony path opposite, then the grassy path on your right. Under the ramparts, turn left then right and continue towards the church.
At the church, head straight down to the car park on Place du Foirail (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 337 m - Place du Foirail in Puylaurens
  2. 1 : km 0.71 - alt. 325 m - D92, path on the left
  3. 2 : km 1.75 - alt. 258 m - Crossroads of grassy paths
  4. 3 : km 2.75 - alt. 215 m - Road junction
  5. 4 : km 3.86 - alt. 252 m - Hairpin bend
  6. 5 : km 4.97 - alt. 207 m - S-shaped road
  7. 6 : km 6.76 - alt. 245 m - Church crossroads
  8. 7 : km 7.41 - alt. 227 m - Dirt track on the left
  9. 8 : km 8.48 - alt. 277 m - Tarmac road, on the right
  10. 9 : km 9.36 - alt. 257 m - D92 crossroads
  11. 10 : km 11.04 - alt. 233 m - Alric, path on the right
  12. 11 : km 12.21 - alt. 294 m - Crossing the D92
  13. S/E : km 13.12 - alt. 337 m - Place du Foirail in Puylaurens

Notes

For parking, use the car park just below the central square of Le Ravelin (blue zone) on Avenue de Revel.
Please note that there is a water fountain and toilets on Place du Ravelin, in front of the kiosk.
Please stay on the route to respect private property.

(8) Please note: if you turn left, you can join the Montaut loop.

Worth a visit

In Rue Foulimou, note the beautiful 16th- and 17th-century bourgeois houses with their half-timbering. At No. 26, the Protestant temple built in 1818 with the old gate of the 17th-century Protestant academy.

In Bellevue, there is a beautiful Castrais-style dovecote. Do not enter the field; stay on the path.

(5) 200 metres to the north, you can see a mound. This could be a motte-and-bailey castle, or "feudal motte", which is a type of earthwork fortification from the Middle Ages.
The mound was surrounded by a moat, with a palisade at the top. A small wooden fort with a watchtower was built on top. The motte is considered to be the ancestor of the fortified castle.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 22 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.3 / 5
Frala
Frala

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2026
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A gentle start with gentle undulations, and a pretty little church in Ardialle which offers a welcome shelter in bad weather. The section after Ardialle is less interesting. Note that the signposted route for the climb up to Puylaurens runs further south than the one shown on this map: this isn’t a problem as it’s very pleasant. Please be aware that the car park mentioned at the start is, to my knowledge, in a blue zone.

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User 16206069

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 17, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful circular route in a typical Tarn setting (undergrowth, fields and small local roads). The signage is clear and the environment is peaceful. We pass a few farms, but the barking dogs are all tied up or locked away, so no problems there. A lovely picnic stop at the church, where a table awaits passing hikers under the porch.
Thank you for the route!

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Bouboulina
Bouboulina
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route, not always very shaded, varied, with a few easy hills. The signposting is excellent, thank you Puylaurens. Overall, a lovely walk.

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Shrando31410
Shrando31410

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Trip taken one week after very heavy hailstorms and rain. Some photos show the damage. The hike is very accessible, pleasant and varied. It alternates between ascents, descents, shaded passages, sunny paths and barely visible trails. Well marked, with clear signposting. Picnic area located and sheltered at Ardialle church. Recommended hike. Thanks to the municipality of Puylaurens.

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Sénéquier 83
Sénéquier 83

A pleasant, easy hike. Muddy in rainy weather. Few people encountered.

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caoussis
caoussis

Overall rating : 4 / 5

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

Very pleasant loop, accurate map. The only drawback is at the start, as Rue Foulimou is currently impassable (even for pedestrians) due to roadworks: you have to make a long detour, but it's easy to find your way back to the Vielmur road. At point 4, it's possible to get confused as the route isn't obvious.

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Vendinielle
Vendinielle

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

I had already done this route and this time I chose a variation: starting from Ardialle and taking a shortcut before (10) via Dairy Farm Grande, an estate that you have to go around along the edge of the field, then arriving at (3) - NB / The La Caussarié path is private. However, at (5), I climbed up to Pech des Monganes and back. The view is splendid, I had already enjoyed it in early December during hike no. 17265715, the autumn colours were magnificent. On the way back, the stretch of road between (5) and (6) seemed a little long to me, but it's easier to walk when you follow the original route. That gave me 11.5 km in 3 hours 20 minutes.
Thanks to the Les Chemins du Pastel association.

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Sénéquier 83
Sénéquier 83

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short, fairly easy hike without too much elevation gain. In rainy weather, the descent at the beginning is very slippery. There is a bit of tarmac at the end. Thanks to the trailblazer

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POCAHUNTHAS
POCAHUNTHAS

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The paths are pleasant with a medium level of difficulty

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Le promeneur solitaire
Le promeneur solitaire

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant hike in all weather conditions. Tarmac paths with no cars.
Weather as described.

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LULUETULYSSE
LULUETULYSSE

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
a very pleasant hike in March, with little elevation gain except for a slightly steep climb on the way back near Puylaurens, which we tackled in good spirits.
The mud was a bit of a nuisance, but that was to be expected as it had rained in the previous days. As a result, the tarmac sections allowed us to "clean our shoes"! The tarmac sections are very quiet.
Thank you to the organisers for offering us all these outings. Happy hiking to all.

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ID81360
ID81360

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with no difficulty whatsoever. Lots of paved country lanes, but very little traffic. Beautiful scenery, with the Black Mountain in the distance. A visit to the historic old town of Puylaurens (a former Protestant town in the 16th century) is very interesting and not to be missed. See the cannonball embedded in the façade of a house.

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bemer82
bemer82

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very pleasant countryside walk on well-marked trails and quiet roads
with beautiful views
Highly recommended

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LASGOUTTES
LASGOUTTES

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with varied landscapes dotted with dovecotes and small country churches.
What's more, the porch of Ardialle church is open to walkers, with a table and benches and a
friendly welcome sign.
Highly recommended.

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RANDO1VISO2
RANDO1VISO2

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 24, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike completed on 21 January 22 in dry cold weather (like the terrain!) with occasional gusts of icy wind, turning off on the way back to take the "Boucle de Montaut" route. Very few cars on the tarmac sections, few passages through the forest, beautiful panoramic views. Picnic sheltered from the wind and in the sun on the steps of the entrance porch of St-Jean Church.
Thank you to the people who marked the route and who maintain the markings! Have a good trip, everyone.

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