The Gizia Reculée

A short hike to discover a lesser-known but no less beautiful Jura valley. The loop starts behind the church in Gizia, a small village where the Gizia river has its source. Then a fairly steep but generally shaded climb leads to the village of Le Chanelet, at the top of the 220m high cliff. The Belvédère de Chanelet offers a breathtaking view of the Bresse and Mâconnais regions.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.00 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 239 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 244 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 484 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 246 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from Gizia, small car park behind the church.
(S/E) Take the road on the right, then after barely 50 metres, take the stony path on the left.
At the Y-junction, keep right (almost straight ahead). When you reach the tarmac road, turn left immediately, leave it at the bend and continue along the path until you reach the next tarmac road.

(1) When you reach the tarmac road, look straight ahead to your left and locate the continuation of the path. Take the tarmac road on the left and immediately continue along the path, keeping to the right (yellow markings).
Cross the road for the third time, continue along the path and, at the end of the forest, turn left to reach the village of Le Chanelet.

(2) On the road, turn left and then right onto Rue de la Rochette. Continue along this road (signposted "Belvedère le Chanelet").
After passing a farm, continue along the road, keeping to the right for about 500 metres.

(3) Leave the road and take the path on the right that climbs to the top of the hill, on the reculée. After 200 metres, rejoin the road and arrive at the Belvédère le Chanelet viewpoint.

After your visit, continue along the road in the same direction (yellow signs for Belvédère de Cuiseaux). Follow this road for 1.6 km, passing the calvary, to reach the Châtel convent.
Go straight across the crossroads to enter the convent grounds. Follow the only tarmac road with its right-hand bend.

(5) Next to the last building, leave the road and go down the grassy path on the right (yellow andGR® markings), then be careful: at the T-junction, take the slightly hidden path on the left, which starts parallel to the grassy path but descends further; it is still markedGR® (red/white) and yellow. Go around the Châtel site, find the tarmac road and turn right.

(6) At the first hairpin bend, leave the road and take the path on the right. Now you're in for a long descent of about 1.3km through the woods. At the end of this descent, turn right onto the road that leads back to the centre of Gizia (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 255 m - Small car park behind the church
  2. 1 : km 0.53 - alt. 350 m - Keep to the right at the road
  3. 2 : km 0.87 - alt. 410 m - Le Chanelet
  4. 3 : km 1.59 - alt. 428 m - Rocher Reculée
  5. 4 : km 1.94 - alt. 464 m - Le Chanelet viewpoint
  6. 5 : km 3.69 - alt. 425 m - Grassy path on the right
  7. 6 : km 4.46 - alt. 349 m - Path on the right in the bend
  8. S/E : km 6 - alt. 253 m - Small car park behind the church

Notes

Moderate difficulty due to the elevation gain, which can be slippery in bad weather. Most of the elevation gain is on stone paths, but once you reach the valley, you follow the tarmac road.
There are no shops in the villages, but there is a beautiful picnic area (with barbecue) at the Belvédère de Chanelet.
Bring drinking water and wear good walking shoes.

Worth a visit

Classified as a "natural area of ecological and faunistic interest", the Reculée de Gizia is home to peregrine falcons, eagle owls, chamois and other animals that can be spotted while hiking. In terms of flora, it is the kingdom of orchids and Gizia saxifrage.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
Meyer Charly
Meyer Charly

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

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User 25880228

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

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cedric69000
cedric69000
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A parish-specific to Brittany walk of three miles, with a nice variety of paths and landscapes, and beautiful houses.

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Mumu G
Mumu G

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike. The forest paths are sometimes littered with tree trunks that have fallen due to the strong winds of recent months. We missed the path at the exit of Chanelet near the farm to go to the Belvédère. So we went up by the road. Magnificent view of the valley. We even saw three beautiful chamois. The descent back to Gizia is quite steep and slippery, so I wouldn't recommend it with children. We did the hike during the week and were alone on the paths.

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BABOUR RANDO
BABOUR RANDO

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk above the Gizia valley! And the weather was on our side!
Highly recommended if you're in the area.

Babour

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Lulu39
Lulu39

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 15, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant hike.

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QntnCat
QntnCat

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with a lovely view of the plain from the viewpoint. It's a shame that a good third of the hike is on the road.
The climb at the start is quite steep, but only on short sections.
The descent to the village is quite slippery (at the end of October) because there is a lot of "slippery" earth.

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Vané01
Vané01

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

The hike is quite shaded, making it pleasant even on hot days, as most of the walk is under trees.
one-third of the hike is on the road, which is not very busy but still a road. That's a shame.
It's also a shame to be in such a remote area and see nothing (or almost nothing) apart from the viewpoint.
The hike takes about two hours at a leisurely pace, despite the steep climb at the beginning and the steep descent at the end.
Be sure to wear good walking shoes

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lily et patou
lily et patou

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 02, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant hike, much of which is on roads, best avoided in hot weather.
Be careful after leaving the Belvédère du Chanelet and returning to the road: stay on the road and do not follow the sign for Belvédère de Cuiseaux, which goes up to the left (stone path).

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loulou01
loulou01

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

a very beautiful hike, starting around 10 a.m. as it was a hot day! Some parts of the path were not cleared as we climbed towards the village! Very beautiful view from the belvedere over the valley and the Bresse plain. We had a snack at the Chatel convent near the church. This route is best done in dry weather as the ground is very muddy on the descent from Chatel to Gizia!

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poeh
poeh

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

we saw chamois on the descent

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70rando70
70rando70

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beware of the farm dog, which must be avoided. It was aggressive, running loose, and its owner was not very friendly. The animal "bit" my husband's bum. Very unpleasant...

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clubderandonnées
clubderandonnées

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 17, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Enjoy a peaceful hike close to nature

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Florence.villot
Florence.villot

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A short circuit in terms of distance, but requiring a good two hours of walking for the leisurely hiker. However, it is very pleasant and varied, passing through woodland and lime trees
You can take some time out in Châtel if you wish
It is calm and peaceful in the countryside, and we were lucky enough to see some chamois
I recommend wearing hiking boots for certain sections, but otherwise there are no difficulties

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madness
madness

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 11, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It climbs steeply, beautiful scenery at the viewpoint, and then descends steeply. A pleasant hike

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