Tour of the Puy de Monchar and Puy de Mercœur

In Laschamps, park just outside the village, on the right-hand side of the Route de Beaune-le-Chaud, in the car park for hikers and at the picnic area.

Please note! This hike is not marked.

(S/E) Head towards the forest, taking the leftmost path marked in red and white by the^GR®®4-441. At the next two crossroads, continue straight ahead, still on the^GR®®, until you reach a forest logging area at a crossroads of several paths (see "Variation" in "Practical information").

(1) Leave the^GR®® and take the path opposite and to the right of the tree with the markings. Shortly afterwards, just at the end of the right-hand bend, take the grassy path on the right.

(2) Further on, ignore a path on the left, then pass under a power line. About 500 m further on, pay attention: the path veers to the right, descending slightly, then passes a small embankment. Immediately after, before a slight climb, take a fairly wide but discreet grassy path on the left that descends. On your left is the Puy de Montchar, which you go around on the right.

(3) Follow it and, shortly afterwards, it becomes less grassy and clearer. Pass to the left of a small spring with black pipes, the Source de l'Enfer, which is right next to a scree slope, and continue downhill to reach a path. Follow it to the left. Further on, ignore a path on the right that is not shown on the map. You will come to a wide path at a recreational area on your left.

(4) Turn left. At the next fork, veer right and shortly afterwards pass under the power line again.

(5) Shortly afterwards, at another fork, keep left. Just before a right-hand bend, ignore a grassy path on the left. Continue straight ahead on this wide path until you come to the fence of a meadow.

(6) Take a path on the right that is not shown on the map and runs alongside the meadow. At the next crossroads, turn left to continue around the meadow. (At the same time, you will be going around the Puy de Monteillet on your left). Further on, at a small green "^PR®®" sign, ignore the grassy path on the right and continue straight ahead, following a fence on your right. When you reach a crossroads at the yellow "1044" marker, follow the path to the left towards Laschamps. About 400 m further on, look out for the yellow marker "1048" on your right, which is not very visible when approaching from this side.

(7) Take the grassy path on the right, towards Beaune. The path climbs up to the pass between Puys de Mercœur and Lassolas (signpost, ignore the pseudo path on the right, which is an erosion corridor) and then descends. Finally, emerge from the woods to arrive shortly afterwards at a crossroads.

(8) Continue along the path on the left, between pastures. Ignore a path on the right and continue to a crossroads with several paths.

(9) Turn onto the path furthest to the right. Shortly afterwards, ignore the path on the right and then take the path on the right just after that, which joins a road. Follow it to the right for a few metres, then take a grassy path on the left that goes uphill. Further up, as the path fades into the meadow, continue straight ahead for a few metres to reach a new path. Follow it to the right, then at the next crossroads, turn left and continue straight ahead to reach a wide red dirt track.

(10) Follow this path to the right, on the left of a long coniferous wood and on a ridge that offers a view of the Puy de Dôme on the left. At the end of the coniferous wood, continue straight ahead until you reach another path, at the yellow signs on the left.

(11) Turn left (towards "Route du Puy de Mercœur") to descend towards Laschamps. On the descent, note the slightly damaged information sign about Laschamps on the left. When you reach a road, turn right and immediately descend towards the village, taking Chemin du Coudert on the right-hand side of the road. After the first houses, turn left onto a path that climbs back up to the road. Cross it to return to the car park (S/E).

Moderate difficulty hike, standard hiking equipment required.

Please note! Some of the paths in the first part of the route are not well maintained and may be grassy (but nothing that prevents progress), so it is best to wear trousers. One of the paths is not very visible at the start, so follow the description carefully. Do not pay attention to the markings if they are not mentioned in the description.

Shorter and easier route: at (1), continue on the^GR®®, straight ahead, slightly to the left. About 800 m further on, you will find the yellow marker "1048" on the left. Take the grassy path on the left towards Beaune and follow the description at (7). This alternative route is about 12 km long with a 300 m elevation gain.

There is no access to the summit of Puy de Montchar, which is heavily wooded and does not offer any views from the top.

Completed again on Sunday 25 August 2019. No issues.

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

Typical landscapes of the Chaîne des Puys: large meadows for summer grazing and hay harvesting, wooded slopes of the puys.

Back at the starting point, enjoythe Laschamps magnetic anomaly: when lava flows, it sometimes contains magnetic elements that align themselves with the Earth's magnetic field at that moment. As the lava cools, it solidifies and these elements are frozen in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field at the time of the eruption. Later, when these rocks outcrop, if you stand nearby with a compass, you will see that the needles go haywire and North becomes South, and vice versa.

In Laschamps, the rock has been pierced with several holes to encourage outcropping. If you hold your compass close to the different holes, there will not really be a magnetic reversal, but the effects are still very clear, as you can see in this photo.