The Girgols Plateau

I apologise, André, for describing your village as tiny; I did not mean any harm.
You have every right to be proud of your village.
As for the buron, even if, according to you, it has lost its metal structure, its metal roof is enough to identify it as such.
It was more from the entrance to the meadow onwards that things went wrong for us.
But I imagine that's what this forum is for.
Best regards,
and happy hiking to you too.

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Hello everyone, indeed, the metal structure is no longer at the buron on the right; it was removed in 2017 . Sorry for those who got lost. Our village square is indeed tiny, but we, the inhabitants of Girgols, are very proud of our little village, where life is good. Happy hiking to all. André

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Date of your route : Mar 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Judging by the many reviews of this hike, I see that everyone managed to get back to the starting point... ...us too... ...but by turning back!
It’s probably because we’re not very good at it!
We’d downloaded the Visorando app and followed the red route like on Google Maps.
Once we entered the field (point 2), the app made it clear that we were slightly to the right of the route.
This sort of app is very handy, but how you read it depends on your screen size, the zoom level you’ve chosen, etc... ...and the available network...
After turning back, we finally downloaded a compass app and realised that this‘slightly to the right of the route’ actually meant‘VERY FAR to the right of the route’!
Whilst trying, as best we could, to follow the route on the GPS, we had, without realising it, headed due north instead of the westerly direction indicated by dreetje.
In fact, when you enter the meadow at POINT 2, you come to a vast, bowl-shaped grassy area, bordered by a ridge on your right and a ridge on your left. It is towards the summit of the one on the left that you need to head, as soon as you enter the meadow (we realised this when we turned back and returned to Point 2).
We, however, followed the ridge on the right: the view from the top is lovely, but following this ridge led us into a wooded area ending in a sort of precipice overlooking fields, which we had to cross to reach the hamlet of......Tillit!!! to the north-east of Girgols!!!
Dreetje’s instructions at point 2:“when you have a buron on your right with a metal structure, make sure you turn left into a meadow” caused some confusion – for us, at least: YOU DO INDEED HAVE TO TURN LEFT TO ENTER THIS MEADOW, the entrance to which is, in fact, opposite a buron with a metal roof (on your right). BUT – and this is what we hadn’t understood – ONCE IN THE MEADOW, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY CONTINUE TO KEEP TO THE LEFT, following the fence in a sort of left-hand semi-turn, and you will then find the faint but clearly visible trace of a path that will lead you to the summit of the ridge on your left. You will then follow the ridge, which will take you round the wooded area on the left and back to the village of Girgols.
Finally, one last small detail: the starting point/car park indicated is not, strictly speaking, the village square but an area situated behind the church and its cemetery. The village square itself – if you can call it that, given how tiny it is – is situated below and to the right of the indicated starting point, near the fountain and the picnic table set up beneath a hedge trimmed into a cornice.

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Date of your route : Aug 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Very easy hike. Nothing more to add.

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Date of your route : Apr 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Too bad there are no markers

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Date of your route : Aug 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The fence crossings have been improved since last year.
A very pleasant, easy walk with a beautiful view in the middle, which makes you forget the first half of the route on a (small) tarmac road.

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Date of your route : Aug 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The fence passages have been improved since last year.
A very pleasant, easy walk with a beautiful view in the middle.

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Date of your route : Jun 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Very busy route : No

Of course, you can see meadows, cows, distant mountains and a few pretty buildings, but that's the least you'd expect when hiking in the Cantal... i am very disappointed with this route, which does not offer the grandeur of the landscapes I found on my way to Puy Violent or from the Col de Legal... and the worst thing is that half of the route is on a tarmac road (with very little traffic) . That won't stop me from coming back to this beautiful department!

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Date of your route : Jun 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Between point 989 (summit) and point 3, there is no trail: you must navigate by sight towards Girgols (easy).
Avoid this route in wet weather, as the grass is tall.

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Date of your route : Feb 18, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

An invigorating hike under partly cloudy, partly sunny skies, with a temperature of 9 degrees and a slight breeze (it was necessary to be covered up), but with a beautiful, unobstructed view of the snow-capped Cantal mountains. There were no signposts, but the information provided and a little logical observation were sufficient.

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Date of your route : Oct 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk through the natural landscapes of Cantal.
Meadows, cows and a few hamlets: breathe in the fresh air and recharge your batteries.
We recommend this easy hike (it takes just an hour and a half to complete).

Best regards

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Date of your route : Sep 15, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A gentle hike with quite a few paths at the beginning where you may encounter a few cars.
The beautiful Salers cows are there too.

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We didn't hike there!
However, we did hike from Puy Mary, starting from Buron d'Eylac, which avoids a lot of tarmac and is superb!
The same goes for the hike to Plomb du Cantal starting from Col de Prat de Bouc, which is well marked. From the top of these two peaks, the view is magnificent, with a 360-degree panorama when you're lucky enough to have sunshine.
Best regards

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Date of your route : Aug 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant and easy hike.

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Hello,

Neither Visorando nor the author are responsible for signposting. Signposting is often included in the description when it exists on the ground, but otherwise, the description and map are supposed to be sufficient for orientation.
Visorando does not mark the suggested walks.

Visorando provides a detailed description (which can be improved) and a 1:25,000 IGN map. And if signposting is essential for you, Visorando provides virtual signposting: a GPS application.

This tool, offered free of charge by Visorando, allows you to validate waypoints and thus remove any doubts you may have about your direction.

See you soon!

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