The path of the two churches of Coubisou and Vinnac

Highly contrasting landscapes, from wooded valleys to green hills, traditional farms to replanted terraces. This hike tells a rich story, linking two well-preserved Romanesque churches.

Details

52737
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.62 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 251 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 236 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 513 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 347 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park your vehicle in the Coubisou car park.

Yellow markings

(S/E) From the car park, head back towards the village centre. Before reaching the church, take a sharp right turn onto a tarmac path for 50 m, then a grassy path, and continue for 450 m.

(1) Take a sharp left turn onto a stony path to climb back up to the plateau. At the small road, turn 90° right towards Le Colombier. Leave the hamlet on your left. Continue right on the road for about 100m.

(2) Turn left and descend to the Ferme de Salles. Pass in front of the house and then turn left onto a "forest path" in the woods. After passing a stream, climb up to Murat. Cross the hamlet and continue to the D22.

(3). Follow it to the left until you reach Le Causse. Leave the road to Le Monastère on your right.

(4) Shortly afterwards, turn left. Follow the signs for Les Souliés and pass in front of the school. Turn 90° to the right and then, in the village, follow the signs for Estaing.

(5) At the exit, turn left onto a dirt track to Fabrègues. Cross the hamlet and continue straight on to Le Vialaret and rejoin the D655.

(6). Follow it, keeping to the left, and head towards Vinnac, after passing a road on your right. The road turns sharply to the left and leads to the church. Beautiful view of the Lot Valley.

(7) At the church, continue straight ahead and take the small road alongside the cemetery. Continue to the next intersection.

(8) Go straight ahead and pass through Servels. After passing the hamlet, the road winds its way through a series of bends, crosses the Ribat stream and ends at a reverse fork.

(9) Turn left 180° and continue to Dayrac.

(10) At the entrance to the hamlet, turn right above two farm buildings. Follow a dirt track along the hillside for 800 m. At the first crossroads, turn 90° left for 150 m, then veer right onto an old grassy track leading to the Lagarrigue farm. Continue straight ahead along a sunken track to reach Coubisou (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 410 m - Coubisou car park
  2. 1 : km 0.47 - alt. 462 m - Hairpin bend. Turn left.
  3. 2 : km 1.3 - alt. 511 m - Fork. Turn left.
  4. 3 : km 2.49 - alt. 512 m - Intersection with the D22. Turn left.
  5. 4 : km 3.32 - alt. 486 m - Le Causse. Fork. Left.
  6. 5 : km 4.03 - alt. 478 m - Les Souliès. Fork. Left.
  7. 6 : km 4.78 - alt. 483 m - Intersection with the D655. Turn left.
  8. 7 : km 5.63 - alt. 436 m - Vinnac Church
  9. 8 : km 6.33 - alt. 393 m - Bouyssas crossroads. Continue straight ahead.
  10. 9 : km 7.3 - alt. 348 m - Reverse fork. Turn left 180°.
  11. 10 : km 8.16 - alt. 428 m - Dayrac. Intersection. Right.
  12. S/E : km 9.62 - alt. 418 m - Coubisou car park

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 18 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
Gérard Briffon
Gérard Briffon

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful views. Very good signposting. Very well-maintained trails. It's a shame to have to walk on tarmac roads.

Machine-translated

rosalie2
rosalie2

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Tour completed in January.
Apart from the start and finish, which can be a little challenging, I recommend this route for its pleasant nature. About a third of the route is on very quiet roads, which adds to its charm.

Machine-translated

sergev
sergev

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and easy hike to Vinnac and its beautiful church. A shaded path then a small road through small hamlets. Unfortunately, after Vinnac, you walk along a road that is not very interesting and has a bit of traffic, before joining a farm track for the last 500 metres.

Machine-translated

lyllatsrando
lyllatsrando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pretty hike with varied landscapes. We passed through Vinnac again, a charming little hamlet with a beautiful church
Be careful, however, as the final stretch is a bit challenging, with a narrow, steep path, lots of stones and few or no places to hold on to. Not to be attempted in wet weather, as it is slippery.
Many thanks to OT Estaing for this wonderful new hike

Machine-translated

YokoBag
YokoBag

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

A bit too much road. Some paths are clearly not maintained, particularly the descent at the end of the route (grass up to your neck! No visibility of the stony ground, so potentially dangerous)
Best avoided in its current state

Machine-translated

2740851
2740851

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 08, 2021
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
impeccable signposting
nothing to say except highly recommended

Machine-translated

passepartout
passepartout

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Trip taken in June 2020, beautiful views, hamlets and churches are interesting, the Lot valley can be admired in its green setting. I do not recommend this hike in hot weather as there is a lot of tarmac. The end is superb with the descent to Coubisou and its bell tower.

Machine-translated

Marie-pierre
Marie-pierre

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful hike, from which you can discover the Lot valley in a very beautiful way

Machine-translated

passepartout
passepartout

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

hike completed on 4 September 2020, no difficulty. Beautiful views of the Lot valley. Lovely hamlets to visit.
But the heat made the route difficult because there was a lot of tarmac.
I still recommend this hike.

Machine-translated

DELBES
DELBES

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful short hike that allows you to discover a rich heritage (the churches of Coubisou and Vinnac with their modillions, beautiful buildings in the various hamlets you pass through, etc.) and remarkable evidence of rural life in the recent past (for example, the old terraces, many of which are still occupied by the vineyards of Coubisou and Estaing)
There are also some beautiful panoramic views of the lovely Lot valley and the surrounding area.
One small comment, however, about the route, which takes in some very beautiful sections on old paths but unfortunately also includes a few too many sections on tarmac. The section between Vinnac and point 8 is quite dangerous with its various bends, no real hard shoulder and cars (from the "12" and "Parisians") tending to drive far too fast...!
I would like to highlight the excellent signposting throughout this walk!

Machine-translated

tracylemont
tracylemont

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

-first third of the hike, very good, with beautiful trails and scenery.
-second third: a bit too much road, but we discovered some interesting villages.
-End of the hike: a trail overgrown with tall grass (watch out for ticks!) and, at the end, a very steep descent, which should be avoided in rainy weather.

All in all, a very well marked and described hike, both on paper and in the field, with very diverse landscapes (especially the old terraces for growing vines) and interesting villages.

Machine-translated

larzac
larzac

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, with stunning views of the Lot valley and a wide variety of landscapes.
A bit too much tarmac.
The final descent to Coubisou could do with being re-marked and cleared of undergrowth.

Machine-translated

balou17
balou17

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, suitable for all seasons.

Machine-translated

randorenaud
randorenaud

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 16, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

a pleasant route with views of the Aveyron countryside
it's a shame that both churches were closed
a lot of walking, but in winter your feet stay drier

Machine-translated

Ardokri
Ardokri

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 06, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

The recommended route on the way back (between "9" and the finish) located under the "S" for Coubisou on the map does not exist (or no longer exists...) and you have to go back up to the path between the start and "1".
The highlight of this circuit is the church of Vinnac, but it is not accessible and no visiting hours or days are mentioned.
The walk is worth it for the beauty of the Aubrac cattle herds!
Kind regards

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

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