The Chastelas viewpoint, starting from Saint-Pierre de Beaujeu

Access from Beaujeu: the road is very winding with poor visibility; careful driving is advised. Park in the car park at the entrance to Saint-Pierre.

(S/E) Leave the car park by turning left and walk past the church. Then head right, onto the Place du Four à Pain, to take the road leading out of the village and down to the banks of the river, the Galèbre. Follow this road to the hamlet of Les Combes. 

(1) After the houses, turn right to follow the Chastelas path: marked in yellow.

(2) Cross the track and continue straight ahead until you come to another track.

(3) Follow this track to the left for a few dozen metres, then take the continuation of the path, marked in yellow, on the right. Return to the track for a few metres, then turn back onto the path on the right and head towards a three-way junction.

(4) From this point, the marked, eroded path disappears into a network of gullies. Leave it, therefore, and head straight up the path on the left, which quickly rejoins the track you left earlier. Turn right and follow it for about 150 metres. 

(5) At the cairn, head left onto another path leading to a grassy clearing, and rejoin the track one last time. 

(6) Turn left for a few metres until you find the Sentier du Chastelas on the right, clearly marked in yellow. The very start is a little steep, but the rest is better marked and easier going, with wide hairpin bends. At the final bend, there’s a view towards the Barre des Tremblès and the cross, the end point of the walk. You’ll reach a flat section, perfect for relaxing and having a picnic. The path circles round the Chastelas, a karst collapse some forty metres deep, and reaches a Y-junction.

(7) Leave the ascending path. This junction, where you leave the unmarked path leading up to the Montagne de l’Ubac, isnot very visible, marked only by a small cairn. It is essential to spot and follow the yellow markings carefully all the way to the Chastelas viewpoint. 

(8) Begin the return journey along the same route, in the opposite direction, until you reach the track.

(6) Turn left. At the first hairpin bend, continue straight ahead along a secondary track leading to the Pierron farm, without going there. 

(9) Before reaching the farm, turn left onto the path signposted ‘Saint-Pierre’ (4.5 km). After a descent along the mountainside, the path joins the Galèbre track. 

(10) At the hairpin bend, turn right onto this track which runs alongside the Galèbre on your left. You’ll reach a junction. 

(11) Stay on the track you have been following so far, going straight on, and rejoin the route you took on the way up.

(2) Follow the path you took on the way up, in the opposite direction, back to the car park where you started (S/E). 

Bring water with you; there are no springs along the route.

Picturesque hamlets in the Galèbre valley, green pastures and black pine forests, a hike of geological interest and, above all, superb panoramic views of the Blayeul, the Estrop, the Mourre de Simance, the Montagne de Boules, the Cheval Blanc, the Couard and the Barre des Dourbes, as well as the valley and the mountain pastures from La Javie to Labouret.