La Montagne de la Serre overlooking Saint-Saturnin

When you arrive at Chadrat de l'Est via the D96, pass the cemetery on your right and then a fountain, also on the right, before you come to a large car park overlooking the Ruisseau du Taux stream on the left in the centre of the village. There is a curious fountain with a small tree in the centre at the entrance to the car park. You will also find signs for hikers.

(S/E) Cross the D96 and take the street opposite to the beautiful fountain-wash house-basin complex, the oldest fountain in the village. Turn right and continue straight east on Rue de Champgrand to leave the hamlet.

(1) The tarmac ends at a crossroads. Continue straight ahead. Pass to the right of an old cherry orchard, at a place called Lagarde, where the tree trunks are covered with pieces of fabric (information panel). Further on, at a fork, turn left and then, immediately after, ignore a path on the left. You will come to a crossroads marked with a yellow sign for "Creux de Cerfette".

(2) Turn left towards the Observatoire de la Serre. Shortly afterwards, at a fork, ignore the path that branches off to the left. You are now walking along the top of the plateau, surrounded by pastures. Further on, at an intersection with a path on the right, at the "Paquette" marker lying in a thicket, continue straight ahead. About 200 metres further on, you will pass the water reservoir called Observatoire de la Serre, because it was once covered by a dome for observing the cosmos. The site is still used by amateur astronomers. You can also observe bird migrations there. Shortly afterwards, you will arrive at a crossroads marked with the signpost "Observatoire de la Serre".

(3) Turn left and you will find an information panel on your left about Montagne de la Serre and the birds that can be observed there. Cross the small road and continue straight ahead on the path that descends from the plateau into the Veyre valley. Ignore a path on the left and you will come to a crossroads where you will see the small Sainte-Anne Chapel (information panel and yellow sign).

(4) Continue straight ahead towards Saint-Saturnin. At the next crossroads, look for the signpost marked "les Fouesses". Continue downhill to the right, towards Saint-Saturnin.

(5) About 150 metres further on, turn left onto a path heading east-south-east. From this path, you have a beautiful view of the village of Saint-Saturnin, nestled on the side of the Puy de Peyronère. On your left, high above, admire the beautiful renovation work on the terraces or pailhas, which were once cultivated. Notice the tiny huts built into the low walls. Further on, at a place called Longevette, you will find an information board on the left side of the path.

(6) At the next intersection, turn right and immediately pass a hut built into the low wall at a place called Les Côtes (information panel). Immediately afterwards, take the path that descends to the left and towards the rear. Ignore a small path on the left and you will come to another path near the road and a ravine carved out by the Veyre. Before crossing this ravine, you will see a green picnic table in the field on your left. Turn left into the field to pass in front of the table, then continue along the edge of the field for a few metres. Find a gap in the hedge that allows you to descend to the edge of the D213 road. Cross carefully, then walk across the grassy area opposite and to the left to reach a path. Take it to the right to cross over the small ravine and then climb up towards a beautiful building with green shutters. Look for the "Vocan" sign.

(7) Turn left towards Saint-Saturnin, walk past the house (information board), then continue along this path. Pass an information board about pailhas. At the fork marked with a cross, turn right and, after about 100 metres, ignore a path on the right. You will come to a small road next to a beautiful oak tree growing out of a large rock.

(8) Take the road on the right for about 50 metres, then turn left onto the street to enter the village of Saint-Saturnin. At the crossroads with the path, continue straight ahead. Pass to the right of the town hall, then continue straight ahead to cross the Place du 8 Mai. At the end of the square, you will find the "Saint-Saturnin" signpost and an information panel about the village. Cross Rue Principale, then take Rue des Farges opposite, towards the castle. At the information panel on the left, ignore Impasse de l'Enfer on the right.

(9) At the end of Rue des Farges, turn right onto Rue de la Côte Grosjean. You will arrive at the foot of the Château de Saint-Saturnin, a private historic monument that houses a sumptuous hotel. It is built on a large block of basalt and overlooks the Monne valley. Turn left onto Place de l'Ormeau, then continue straight ahead on the street, ignoring Chemin des Lavoirs on the right (promise of a future hike). You will soon arrive at the church, one of the five most beautiful Romanesque churches in Puy-de-Dôme. On the other side of the street, the old cemetery, now a park, offers a beautiful view of the Monne Valley. Go around the church on the right, passing close to the chapel, and at Place de l'Église, turn left onto Rue de la Boucherie. At the fork, keep right and you will come to Rue de la Côte Grosjean.

(9) Turn right and cross Rue Principale to reach Place du Marché. Note the information panel to the left of the cross. Continue across the square, passing to the left of the well and the blacksmith's workshop, and go straight on along Rue du Marché. Ignore Rue des Granges on your left and walk past a beautiful old house. At the fork, turn right to reach the small road you crossed when you arrived in the village, near the oak tree rooted in the rock.

(8) Continue straight ahead on the same path as on the way there for about 70 metres, then turn left onto the path. Further on, ignore a path on the left. You will come to another path; follow it to the right to reach Vocan.

(7) At the signpost, turn left towards Chapelle Sainte-Anne, ignoring the path you took on the way there. You will come to a path at a wooden sign. Turn right towards Chadrat. Cross the D213 carefully and continue straight ahead. Cross the Veyre stream and ignore the path on the right. Further on, at a path that branches off to the right, look for a small blue^PR®® sign on a tree a few metres to the right. Head towards this sign and continue along this path, which climbs slightly up to the plateau. Ignore a path on the right and continue straight ahead, along the path you took on the way there, until you reach the next intersection.

(6) Leave the path you took on the way there on your left and continue straight ahead. Immediately after, at the fork, go up to the left.

(10) You will arrive at the Croix de la Boria, which overlooks the valley and offers perhaps the most beautiful view of Saint-Saturnin on the entire route (information panel). Ignore the path on the left and, at the fork just after, continue on the left towards the farm. Go around all the farm buildings on the right and continue on this path which leads to Chadrat.

(11) At the Chadrat signpost, ignore the path on the left and continue towards the village. Immediately afterwards, cross the Ruisseau du Taux (spelled "Taut" locally, information panel), then go up to the right to Rue de Cuzette. Continue left on this street, lined with fountains and a wash house, until you reach the edge of the village, where you will find an older fountain and an information panel next to a cross. Turn back and take the first street on the left, Rue de la Pougère. At the fork, turn right onto Rue des Coues and walk past the church and its stromatolite (information panel). At the intersection shortly after, turn right to return to the car park (S/E) via the same route as on the way there, passing close to the wash house.

Moderate difficulty hike, standard hiking equipment

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme here

Some photos here

Chadrat is a hamlet of Saint-Saturnin. The hike therefore takes place entirely within the commune of Saint-Saturnin. The village is proud of its rural and architectural heritage, and the route is dotted with numerous small information panels.

The fountains of Chadrat. Chadrat is an old wine-growing village. In Gallo-Roman times, a spring flowed at "la Gazenne". At the end of the 19th century, in order to fight fires more effectively, numerous networks of fountains were built in hamlets and villages. In Chadrat, the water table of the Gazenne spring was used to supply a network of seven fountains scattered throughout the village. These fountains were also used to water animals, supply houses and water gardens.

The Montagne de la Serre. Originally, the Montagne de la Serre was an area of limestone sediments covered by shallow water. More than 4 million years ago, the Gergovie volcano formed, lava was projected onto this area and sank into the water, solidifying into what is known as "cauliflower" limestone, which can be seen in the walls of some houses in Chadrat. 600,000 years later, lava flows from a new volcano, the Puy de la Vigeral, spread across the area, protecting the limestone from erosion from then until the present day. The valleys of the Taux and the Veyre to the south and the Auzon to the north were carved out, and the Montagne de la Serre appeared. It is pleasant to walk on this high plateau, which is very peaceful and offers beautiful views. It is a major bird migration site managed by the LPO (League for the Protection of Birds).

Saint-Saturnin. The old village is built on the basalt flow from the Puys de la Vache and Lassolas. It is classified as "one of the most beautiful villages in France". A stronghold of the "La Tour d'Auvergne" family in the Middle Ages, it later became a place of residence for Catherine de Medici and her daughter, Queen Margot.
The village church is a jewel of Romanesque art. Built in the 12th century, it is the smallest of the five major Romanesque churches in Auvergne (the others are: Notre-Dame-du-Port in Clermont, Saint-Austremoine in Issoire, Saint-Nectaire and Orcival). It is built of arkose and basalt, a white stone and a black stone, which form elegant patterns on its walls.
In Rue de la Boucherie, a former shop has been converted into the Tourist Office. The Sainte-Madeleine Chapel, near the church, a former 11th-century Benedictine priory church, is now an exhibition hall.
The castle, also built of arkose and basalt, is one of the most impressive in Lower Auvergne. It was built at the end of the 13th century by the Barons of La Tour d'Auvergne.