The Fohet plateau at the start of Lac d'Aydat

In Aydat, park in the car park by the church/sports grounds.

No signposts

(S/E) With your back to the tennis courts and the church on your left, exit the car park via its entrance, cross the street and take Rue Léon Chamalet opposite. Keep left at the intersection and you will arrive at Rue Sidoine Apollinaire. Follow it carefully to the right, cross the bridge over the Veyre and, in the bend in the road to the right, go up a grassy path on the left. You will come out on the same road. Follow it carefully to the left for about 70 metres, then take the small road on the right, Chemin des Pradeaux.

Yellow markings

(1) At the T-junction, look for a yellow marker and follow it to the left, Chemin du Bouffevent. You will arrive at a large crossroads, with a cross on the left. Cross carefully and follow Rue du Passadou opposite.

Yellow markings and red and white ^GR®® markings

At the intersection, keep left on the path. You will arrive at a group of buildings and machinery, which are not very attractive.

(2) At the corner of this plot, turn onto the path leading off to the left. It crosses the Veyre river and then climbs back up. At the sign marked 993 m, ignore the path on the left and continue to a T-junction.

(3) Turn left.

No markings

After about 500 m, turn onto a path on the right (at a sign indicating that the meadow on the right is "private property, hunting grounds"). You will reach a T-junction and some faded yellow markings.

The yellow markings are faded and sometimes missing, so do not rely on them too much.

(4) Turn left and stay on this path, ignoring all side paths until you reach a road, at the pretty Croix de la Ribeyre and a sign for "Route des Fromages d'Auvergne".

(5) Ignore the path on the right and carefully follow the road straight ahead. Then ignore the road branching off to the right and stay on the D788 to enter Fohet. At the fork in the road, keep left (towards Rouillat Bas), climb a few steps to reach the church square, Place des Tilleuls (picnic table).

(6) Walk past the church on your left and, immediately behind it, turn left onto the street. You will immediately come to a wider street (Route de la Chana) and follow it to the right. When the street turns left, continue straight on Chemin de Grimeau. Ignore a path on the right and continue on the tarmac Chemin des Bugghes du Mas.

(7) In front of the entrance to the farm buildings, turn right onto the path. Ignore a path on the right and then, at a fork in the path, keep left. After about 1.1 km, take a path on the left to reach the hamlet of Le Mas.

^GR®® Red and Whitemarkings

(8) At the entrance to the hamlet, ignore a path on the right leading to the^GR®®30markings. You will arrive at a square with two wells. Before passing these wells, turn left onto a narrow path that runs alongside a house on your right.

(9) Further up, cross the road carefully and continue straight ahead: be careful! Do not take the road, but the path that branches off to the left. At the T-junction with a path, turn left and, at the next T-junction, turn right. Ignore a path on the right and you will arrive at the marker at 949 m.

(10) Continue straight ahead towards Phileix and Lac d'Aydat. At a left-hand bend in the path, ignore a path leading opposite. You will arrive at a four-way intersection.

(11) Turn right, then turn left at the next intersection. You will arrive at the marker at 860 m.

Signposting Around the Lake

(12) Leave the^GR®® and follow the sign for "Autour du Lac" on the left. You will reach the hamlet of Poudure. At the signpost of the same name, continue straight ahead on the small road to reach Aydat. At the intersection, turn right to reach the church.

(S/E) For an additional short circular loop around the lake's wetland area, continue straight ahead after passing the church, along the sports field, then turn left in front of the campsite. Then follow the boardwalk, which eventually joins a road. A viewpoint overlooking the lake is accessible on the right.

No markings

Take the road on the left when leaving the Around the Lake trail to return to the car park (S/E), accessible via a footbridge, along the Veyre.

Hike of moderate difficulty, leaning towards easy. Standard hiking equipment required.

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

Photo album here

Throughout the route, there are unobstructed views of the Chaîne des Puys, the Massif du Sancy and the Livradois-Forez.

Aydat is certainly not a pretty village, but its 13th-century Saint-Sidoine Church is worth a visit. Note in particular the keystone featuring a chick in its nest.

Wetland on the Veyre (otter refuge) and lake.