The Balcony of Cristillan

de fr

A very beautiful, easy walk through old hamlets and magnificent landscapes. The path is always fairly wide and without any significant slopes, making it ideal for snowshoeing.

Details

n°1895960
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 7.41 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 199 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 196 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,865 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,666 m
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Photos

Cristillan Gorges
Cristillan Valley
The Cristillan Gorges
The return route

Description of the walk

Park in the car park near the Ceillac ice rink.

(S/E) Join the forest path to the right of the ice rink to the north-east of the village (there is a sign for the walk).

(1) Keep left on the forest track, which winds around several bends before heading northeast, overlooking the Cristillan torrent. Join the GR®5 - GR®58 at the crossroads marked by a large cross.

(2) Take this path opposite and follow it on a fairly flat section to reach the hamlet of Villard.

(3) Leave the GR®5 on your left and continue straight ahead on the GR®58. You will reach the hamlet of Tioure.

(4) Leave the GR®58 here and turn left to begin a short descent and join the road along the Cristillan.

(5) Take this road on the right and follow the Cristillan on its right bank. Leave the first track on the right. Join the crossroads with another track leading to Villard.

(6) Stay on the road and enjoy the unusual and original cairns created by a local resident of Ceillac. Cross the first bridge over the Cristillan and leave the track on your left. Cross a second bridge over the Cristillan. Return to the village and the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,666 m - Ice rink car park
  2. 1 : km 0.15 - alt. 1,681 m - Forest path
  3. 2 : km 1.24 - alt. 1,779 m - Crossroads, junction with the GR
  4. 3 : km 2.11 - alt. 1,833 m - Le Villard
  5. 4 : km 2.91 - alt. 1,849 m - Le Tioure
  6. 5 : km 4.05 - alt. 1,861 m - Route du Vallon
  7. 6 : km 5.59 - alt. 1,787 m - Crossroads below Le Villard
  8. S/E : km 7.41 - alt. 1,669 m - Ice rink car park

Notes

An ideal walk for snowshoeing, but also very pleasant outside the summer months as the road is completely deserted out of season. We did it at the end of March and there was only snow after the hamlet of Rabinoux.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5
Based on 12 reviews
Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
monal
monal

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We enjoyed the unusual and original cairns.

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hypnovel
hypnovel
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Day-long snowshoe hike in the opposite direction to the suggested route, to enjoy the winter afternoon sun.
On the road to Cristillan, there is a trail of unusual cairns to discover, which are motivating for children.
We extended the route a little by going through Les Chalmettes to Le Serre, where we found a balcony for a picnic. I recommend this route, which is dotted with points of interest and superb landscapes. Thank you to Dauphinois

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Randoneuuuuuse
Randoneuuuuuse
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 31, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Morning hike with alternating sun and shade. Superb landscape building to a crescendo with hamlets in sparkling snow, then the return along the half-frozen river. Hike done without children at a good pace in 1.5 hours. Groomed trail, done without snowshoes.

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PATRICE31800
PATRICE31800

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hello, everyone.
We went hiking in beautiful weather. It was a lovely route starting from Ceillac. The road has been reopened following rockfalls, but caution is advised as some rocks may still fall from the mountain. From point 5 to the finish, the trail is lined with unusual cairns. See if you can find them!

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Bernard MARCELLIN
Bernard MARCELLIN

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

PLEASE NOTE: approximately 600 m after point 6 at the Villar bridge, the road is closed to all traffic (cars, bikes, pedestrians) due to a major landslide.
20 m before the bridge, turn right onto a small, barely marked path that climbs up towards the hamlet of Villard to rejoin the road you took on the way there

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VEYSSEYRE
VEYSSEYRE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

In accordance with the description provided by Visorando.

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BLANCJOEL
BLANCJOEL

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

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

you can make a round trip to avoid returning on the road

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DANIELLE04
DANIELLE04

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb landscapes, therefore, to be revisited without hesitation.

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md.lefevre@orange.fr
md.lefevre@orange.fr

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A magnificent winter walk in the snow.
The uphill trail is usually groomed as far as Villard.
It should be noted that the return via the Cristillan gorge is normally reserved for cross-country skiers. You should therefore take the groomed trail that climbs back up to Thioure and Villard to return to Ceillac on snowshoes or on foot.
There were no signs on the way back, so we took the cross-country ski trail where, luckily, we only came across one skier who pointed out the restriction.
The start of the gorge on the way back is constantly in the shade in winter and the temperature can be really freezing!
It took us less than 2½ hours of pure walking to complete the loop on foot as snowshoes were not necessary, the path having already been compacted.

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Sabrina 34
Sabrina 34

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike that I did in the opposite direction, starting at the edge of the village and following the trail marked by unusual cairns.
A very easy hike with varied landscapes.

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M Grisel
M Grisel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A short circuit to warm up or plan when the weather is unsettled. We focused on discovering the unusual cairns along the route and returned via the hamlets and chapels, which was very pleasant.

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StephiJack25
StephiJack25

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, easy. Thank you for the description.

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Groinauvent
Groinauvent

Hello,
We did this beautiful hike with one change.
We followed the path to the road, and rather than going back down this very shady road, we went back up to the junction with a path on the left that leads to the hamlet of Chalmelle. There we took the GR58 to rejoin the path up to Tioure and descend to Ceillac. We stayed in the sun for the entire hike.
Best regards,
Yves

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.