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 washhouse, 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 round a bend onto an uphill track heading towards Crêt Galère: you’ll be looking out over the En Jarine marsh. Continue along the ridge before starting the descent. 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) Turn right onto the tarmac road, which is closed to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Continue to the Corlier cemetery and take the hairpin bend to the left onto the D11a. Enter the woodland.

(4) Take a track on the left which descends towards the Leat de Malaval, or ‘la Mandorne’ as the locals call it. Ford the stream, follow the stream’s course, cross it^{a second time}, 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 emerge at a hairpin bend on the D63a.

(8) Follow the road downhill, passing the Maquis memorial stone 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 up the hill and rejoins the road. Follow it to the right and you’ll soon reach another junction (wash house).

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

(10) Turn round and head back to the junction with the wash house.

(9) Carry on straight ahead along Rue de la Fontaine, which runs straight on with the washhouse on your right. Walk for 100 metres, then continue along the path that climbs to the right. After several bends, turn right onto the wider path, which 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 carry on straight ahead along the track. Pass three hairpin bends: before the second one, you’ll see the shelter built from stone slabs on the right and the small cavities in the cliff face.

(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 metres but is clearly 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 boards explaining 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 northwards along the path marked by two yellow lines.

(15) Follow the old PR® (a few old signposts) and go round Crêt Maréta on the left. Continue until you reach 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 carry on 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 the bushes. You’ll need to cross a stony slope. Climb up, keeping to the left across the meadow, until you 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.