La Combe aux Mammouths

Combe d'Arvaux, known as Combe aux Mammouths, with its Cave aux Loups.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 17.33 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 20 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 471 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 464 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 561 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 269 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park on Route de Velars in the centre of the village of Fleurey-sur-Ouche.

(S/E) Take this road parallel to the Ouche (left bank) heading east.
Go past the foot of some beautiful cliffs on the left, past the water treatment plant and 150m further up a good track. Join the Paris/Dijon railway line.

(1) Go straight on (North-East), leaving out the dirt track on the left and 200m further on turn left onto a track heading North-West. Join a power line.

(2) Continue straight on, ignoring the left-hand track.
When you reach the D104, turn left towards Lantenay and pass in front of the château gate.

(3) Head towards Pasques.
Go around the wash-house and up the D104k to the edge of the village.
After the last house on the right, take the dirt track, then immediately the path on the right that leads up to Chapelle St Louis.
Beautiful views over Lantenay and the Ouche valley.

(4) Follow the path north through the ruins of the old fortified castle.
Further on (300m), turn left north-west, and again, after 300m, turn south-west to go down into the Combe.

(5) Cross the D104K to take a wide path rising north, then west through the forest, which leads to the plateau where the Combe d'Arvaux, bordered by cliffs, appears on the left; this is the Combe aux Mammouths.
A metal ladder takes you down to the foot of the rock and along the bottom of the combe for 500m, leaving out the left-hand path and turning right onto the violet path signposted by the Club Excursionniste Dijonnais.
A steep climb leads to the Cave aux Loups (cave consisting of a small room lined with concretions).

(6) After a short climb along the same purple path, reach the plateau and turn right. Continue along the Violet North path, following the edge of the cliff for about 300m, then turn left around the Bois des Croisées.
Leave the cliffs on a south-westerly path, which joins the blue path, signposted by the Camping Club de France.

(7) Then gradually head south-west. After passing under a power line, stay on the blue path, which turns left and leads to the Roche d'Ancey lookout.

(8) Leave the blue path and head south-east down a narrow path that passes the Tuère spring.

(9) Continue and soon find the Yellow OR path marked out by the Association Bourguignone Culturelle, heading slightly eastwards.
When you reach a large track, turn right and walk downhill for 20m, then turn left again along the OR path, heading east. Reach the edge of the wood in the Combe d'Arveau.

(10) Turn right and, after passing under the power line again, turn right onto the path that joins the D104c. Go 200 m towards Lantenay, then turn right onto the track that crosses the railway line.

(11) Go due south for 500 m, reaching a new crossroads in the Combe Pésard.

(12) Turn left onto the track leading to Fleurey-sur-Ouche. Join the D104 towards the cemetery. Go down into the village, turn left to pass the church and return to the starting point(S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 270 m - Car park Route de Velars - Ouche (rivière)
  2. 1 : km 2.69 - alt. 332 m - Railway line
  3. 2 : km 5.05 - alt. 344 m - Power line
  4. 3 : km 5.9 - alt. 363 m - Grids - Château de Lantenay
  5. 4 : km 6.58 - alt. 445 m - Chapelle Saint-Louis (Lantenay)
  6. 5 : km 7.57 - alt. 437 m - D104K
  7. 6 : km 9.53 - alt. 501 m - La Cave aux Loups (Lantenay)
  8. 7 : km 10.94 - alt. 536 m - Crossroads
  9. 8 : km 12.42 - alt. 540 m - Viewpoint of the Roche d'Ancey
  10. 9 : km 12.98 - alt. 454 m - Source de la Tuère
  11. 10 : km 14.09 - alt. 373 m - Edge of the wood in the Combe d'Arveau
  12. 11 : km 14.8 - alt. 352 m - Railway line. Close to the - Gare de Lantenay
  13. 12 : km 15.32 - alt. 363 m - Carrefour Combe Pésard
  14. S/E : km 17.33 - alt. 270 m - Parking Route de Velars. Close to the - Canal de Bourgogne

Practical information

Make sure you have good walking shoes.

In the nearby area

The city of Dijon, its parks and monuments.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 14 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
ptk21
ptk21

Thank you

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joc
joc

Hello,
If you enlarge the route of the circuit on the visorando website, you will see the path that leads precisely to point 7.
This is a point not to be missed.
It's true that the best thing to do is to download the route onto a GPS so that you can be guided.
Have a nice day.

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ptk21
ptk21

Good evening
During our hike, we didn't find point 7 and that's what we're looking for !!!

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joc
joc

Hello,
The lookout is actually at point 7, so if you've been here, you're in luck!
For more details, look on google earth, the viewpoint is very well signposted.
Thank you very much
Have a nice day
Joc

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ptk21
ptk21

Very nice walk, but from point 6 onwards, there's no way of finding the lookout point at the Roche d'Ancey.
Could you please show me the way and give me some pointers?
Thank you very much

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joc
joc

I'm delighted you enjoyed the walk.
Thank you and have a nice day

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Vero21000
Vero21000

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

An interesting and unusual route
with this ladder to descend unfortunately at this period the paths are invaded by vegetation

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jcehenne
jcehenne

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Magnificent scenery.
A small rocky section after the "cave aux loups" was tricky to negotiate in the pouring rain.

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joc
joc

I'm delighted you enjoyed the walk.
Thank you and have a nice day

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Philippe COULOT
Philippe COULOT

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Great walk.
Some nice climbs.

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jyb25410
jyb25410

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A varied and very pleasant walk...
A great discovery
Thank you

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Vivoactimo
Vivoactimo

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

This hike was brilliant. We completed the route in around 4 hours, with a 20-minute lunch break. The view shortly after point 5 (la cave aux loups) is perfect for a lunch break.
The signs are sometimes brief, but the GPS route makes it easy to find your way around.
Most of the route is in the sun, so it's best to do it in cooler weather. The main difficulty lies in the climb up to the cave aux loups, which is relatively steep but not very long. The short section with the ladder is very easy, provided you take care.

The paths are varied and pleasant to use, and this hike was a pleasure, thanks to the author.

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JMP17
JMP17

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

We parked in Lantenay.
The passage through the Combe aux Mammouths is really surprising and a lot of fun, even in the rain (watch out for the ladder). I can confirm that the climb up to the cave is very tough
The signposts are all different colours and do not correspond to the description. We did everything on the map, which was very accurate, so no worries there.

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joc
joc

Thank you very much for your opinion and, above all, for enjoying this tour.

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Julio7zero
Julio7zero
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 26, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very pretty walk.
Perfect description and route.
Very passable paths with no mud despite the rain of the previous few days.

Magnificent views over the combe d'Arvaux.

Quite easy for 17km, the last 4-5 are downhill.
For my 16-year-old daughter and I, just under 4 hours without running and with lots of photo breaks.

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