The Bois du Fayet and the Piolan bog

The route starts from the hamlet of Vers la Grange. There is no car park, but it is possible to park two or three vehicles on the grass verge of the road. Please do not obstruct traffic or access to the neighbouring fields.

(S/E) Head south-east and follow the road across the Plaine Rebet (a bog lies some distance away; view of the Dent d’Oche). At the first junction, continue straight on to the Chez Bochet wayside shrine.

(1) Continue straight on along a small tarmac road towards the Champ du Bois (ignore the road leading down to the right). Walk alongside a meadow and a few chalets, then continue along the edge of the woods. At the end of the tarmac and on leaving the woods, ignore the paths branching off to the right and left, and keep heading east (towards the Dent d'Oche) along a stony path. You will once again be at the edge of a wood, overlooking the Plaine des Faverges to your right. At the 941m mark, the path turns left and, after a short stony climb, leads to a large isolated house at Champ du Bois.

(2) Turn left. Pass close to a breeze block building and reach a junction: follow the path straight on, which descends steeply into the Bois du Fayet. At the bottom, at another junction, continue straight on, leaving a puddle on your right (often dry in dry weather). Continue down through the woods and ignore a path branching off to the left. At the bottom, leave the woods, veer left and join a tarmac road.

(3) Follow the road to the left, going round a large house (La Forestière), signposted VTT12. Pass through the peaceful hamlet of Piolan. At the end of the hamlet, when the road turns left, carry straight on (sign prohibiting motor vehicles). Follow a path that is initially stony then grassy, lined with trees and hedges. Pass a marshy area on the left at some distance (the Piolan peat bog). Cross a stream (sometimes flooded) and immediately join another, wider path (information sign about the peat bogs and wetlands of the Pays de Gavot).

(4) Take this path to the left (VTT12 sign) and, about thirty metres further on, turn right onto a path that climbs into the woods (leaving the VTT12 route). The path turns into a track. At the T-junction (which does not appear on the IGN map), turn right (north-west). At the next crossroads (elevation 931), turn sharply right and head down into the woods. Then follow the edge of a large meadow. At the end, you’ll reach a crossroads.

(5) Turn sharply left and take a path that climbs through the woods. At the top of the steep but short climb, continue between the woods on the right and a meadow on the left (beautiful view of the Dent d’Oche). Continue slightly uphill through the woods, ignoring a path branching off to the right and then one to the left. On leaving the woods, take the path on the right which immediately leads back to the starting point (S/E).

In wet weather, two or three sections are muddy. Nothing impassable, but make sure you wear suitable footwear.

The Bois du Fayet is criss-crossed by numerous paths in all directions, so it is important to follow the signposts or you may end up going round in circles...

The Gavot plateau, a flattened dome of an ancient glacial moraine situated between 630 and 950 m above sea level, features numerous wetlands, marshes and peat bogs, and encompasses almost all types of marsh found in the Northern Alps: lakes, alkaline marshes, wet meadows and acidic peat bogs. Thirty-eight of these areas are designated as Natura 2000 sites. You walk alongside one of them after the hamlet of Piolan.
Furthermore, the plateau forms the catchment area (or infiltration zone) for Evian mineral water. The entire area was designated a Ramsar Site in September 2008. The policy to protect this natural heritage has enabled the preservation of remarkable biodiversity.

Three discovery trails are open to the public all year round:
- The Maravant and ‘Mémoire de tourbière’ trails, starting from the car park at the Collège du Pays de Gavot (Saint-Paul-En-Chablais): see the hike ‘The marsh and the Maravant trail’.
- The “Paroles d’étangs” trail starting from the car park at La Beunaz beach (Saint-Paul-En-Chablais).

The Chez Bochet wayside shrine (1) dates from 1832. There are 82 wayside shrines on the Gavot and Lonnaz plateaus, most dating from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Faverges plain, which you walk along above between the waypoints (1) and , served as a helicopter base during the 2003 G8 summit in Evian.