The Malaval farm and Crêt Maréta, starting from Aranc

Park in the car park at Aranc Town Hall.

(S/E) With your back to the Town Hall, turn left, walk past the dairy and the wash house, then take Rue de Trémont on the left.

(1) At the Fork in the road, continue to the right, staying on Rue de Trémont.

(2) Turn right into a bend onto an uphill track heading towards Crêt Galère: you’ll be overlooking the En Jarine marsh. Continue along the ridge before tackling the downhill track. At the end of the track, at the Crêt Galère sign, take the tarmac road on the left, following the direction indicated by a green arrow.

(3) Take the tarmac road on the right, which is closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Continue to the Corlier cemetery and take the sharp left-hand bend onto the D11a. Enter the woodland.

(4) Take a path on the left that descends towards the Leat de Malaval, or La Mandorne as the locals call it. Cross the stream at the ford, follow the stream, cross the stream at^{a second} ford and head left towards Malaval Farm.

(5) Continue for about 600 m until you reach a junction.

(6) Cross the ford on the right to follow a steeply sloping path: on my visits, there were tree trunks to help you cross without getting your feet wet. You’ll reach a junction of several paths at the top of the climb: there’s a signpost with no directions.

(7) Follow the path downhill almost directly opposite and ignore the one on the far left, which starts at the same point but is in poor condition. You’ll come out at a hairpin bend on the D63a.

(8) Follow the road downhill, passing the Maquis Memorial and taking the time to read the information panel. Cross the Mandorne bridge, pass the entrance to the old mills on the right, then follow the grassy path which heads straight uphill and rejoins the road. Follow it to the right and you will soon reach another junction (wash house).

(9) Head right and, after about a hundred metres, turn left uphill to reach the Church of Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs (panoramic view).

(10) Turn around and return to the crossroads with the wash house.

(9) Continue straight ahead along Rue de la Fontaine, which runs straight on with the wash house on your right. Walk 100 m then continue along the path that climbs to the right. After several bends, turn right onto the wider path that slopes gently downwards. You’ll reach a hairpin bend on the RD34; follow the road uphill to the next hairpin bend near an aerial.

(11) Leave the road and continue straight on along the path. Pass three hairpin bends: before the second one, you will see the shelter made of stone slabs on the right and the small cavities in the cliff.

(12) About a hundred metres after the third bend, turn right onto an uphill farm track leading into the forest: the path is barely visible for 100 m but is well marked thereafter. Join the PR® trail.

(13) Continue to the right, join a forest track and turn right again to reach a key site of the Resistance at the Marchat farm (information panels on the events of the Maquis, a landing craft used as a drinking trough, a shelter with three picnic tables, etc.).

(14) Retrace your steps.

(13) Continue north on the path marked by two yellow lines.

(15) Cross the old PR® (a few old markers) and go round Crêt Maréta on the left. Continue to a wider path after the descent. Keep going in the same direction and rejoin the D34.

(16) Turn right (let the PR® head off to the left) and continue for about a hundred metres.

(17) Take care: just before a meadow on the left, a barely visible path starts off to the left through some bushes. You need to cross a stony slope. Climb up, keeping to the left in the meadow, and reach the Trois Croix site.

(18) Head downhill to rejoin the PR®. Follow it to the right towards the village and rejoin Rue de Trémont.

(1) Go straight on, then turn right to return to the Town Hall car park (S/E).

The fords, depending on the season and the flow of the stream, can be difficult. However, you can cross by looking for easier crossing points in the vicinity.

The Gorges farm (a key site of the Resistance) is on private property: there are several ‘no entry’ signs on both possible access paths. At the Maquis memorial, the local return path leads just below the farm: of little interest, however. A viewpoint at the church in Les Pézières offers a good view of the farm.

Ferme du Marchat (a key site of the Resistance) with its landing craft used as a drinking trough.

Between (14) and (16), you can take the forest track (which passes in front of a memorial) at the foot of Crêt Maréta

If you cannot find the path to the Trois Croix, return to the^PR®®. A signpost further on will point you towards the Trois Croix on the right for a round trip.

(S/E) Dairy open Wednesday to Saturday from 9am to 12.30pm and 2.30pm to 7pm (visits possible, call 0437611884).
Inn: restaurant and hotel.

Between (8) and on the D63a, memorial to the Maquis fighter Henri Petit.

(10) Les Pézières: “Maison des Gorges”, a key site of the Resistance in the Ain. Information on the Maquis memorial by the side of the RD63a before the village. In 1943, Colonel Henri Romans-Petit set up his headquarters in this tiny hamlet.

(14) Ferme de Marchat – A key site of the Resistance.