Puy de Montchal and the Chiloza Waterfalls

In Besse, park at the picnic area on the edge of the D978 (Route de Champeix, which connects to the A75), near the waste collection centre.

(S/E) Cross the D978 and take the path opposite, at the yellow signs, towards Besse for pedestrians. Walk along a sports field, follow the left-hand bend and then climb up the lawn to reach a path at the top of the embankment. Take this path to the left and continue to the footbridge over the Couze Pavin for a glimpse of the Chiloza waterfalls.

(1) Retrace your steps for about 50 metres and take the path on the left. Further on, this path runs alongside a campsite, then veers off to the right and ends at a small road. Follow it to the left and you will arrive at the D5.

(2) On the left-hand side, follow the D5 towards the village of Besse, passing in front of the campsite, cross the Couze Pavin and, at the roundabout, continue straight ahead (towards Super-Besse 8, road sign). At the intersection, turn right and follow the direction of a plain yellow sign (with nothing written on it), and at the fork, turn left.

(3) Do not go to the end of this street, but take a path in front of the house "Le Rif". You will come out on Rue de la Charreyre-Pisade and follow it to the left. At the intersection, go up to the left towards the village and turn right at the Hôtel Providence. Walk past the church and continue straight on, passing the town hall, until you reach Place Alfred Pipet.

(4) Continue straight ahead, pass the Tourist Office and, at the fountain, turn right onto Rue Quartier Saint-Jean, just to the right of the Atelier du Monty. At the intersection, continue straight ahead onto Rue Quartier de la Bessou. Ignore a small street (barely visible between the houses) on the right, then turn right at the fork. At the T-junction with Rue de la Résistance, follow it to the left. At the crossroads (road sign for "Le Mont-Dore" on the right), continue straight ahead and you will immediately see a sign on the right-hand side of the road with information about the Besse-Super-Besse route. Further on, the street approaches the Couze Pavin river and then runs alongside it on the right-hand side from the large cross.

(5) At the end of the fish farm, continue straight ahead on the path that extends the street and note a chapel a little further on the right. Further on, the path becomes a trail.

(6) Shortly after entering a wood, take a footbridge over a tributary of the Couze and you will find, just behind it, the Source Goyon, information signs about the spring and the Couze Pavin and the yellow marker "Fontaine Goyon". Continue in the direction of Lac Pavin. Further on, walk along a fence, then go through a gate and continue on the right-hand side of the fence. Further on, cross a stile, come to a small road, take the bridge over the Couze Pavin on the right, then immediately turn left onto the path towards Super-Besse. Immediately afterwards, take a wooden step to enter a meadow, then another to leave it. Further on, you will come to another path near the Sagnes farm.

(7) Turn left towards the farm, take the small road that leads to it and follow it to the intersection (yellow signs). Turn left towards Lac Pavin to reach the D149. Walk a few metres to the right, then take the road on the left. Pass between the two ski hire buildings, cross the D978 and climb up opposite. At the top, pass an information sign about Super-Besse, Besse and Lac Pavin, then, before reaching the restaurant, leave the road and turn right to arrive at the edge of Lac Pavin.

(8) Look for yellow signs and follow the direction of Lac Chauvet. Walk along the lake until you reach a fork with yellow signs. Go up to the right, still following the direction of Lac Chauvet.

(9) Further up, at an intersection with yellow signs, you will also find red and white markings for^{the GR®®30}. Turn right and head towards Lac Chauvet for a round trip to the summit of Puy de Montchal. At the next intersection, ignore the path on the right and continue climbing, following the sign for "Puy de Montchal". At the next intersection, continue towards Puy de Montchal by turning left and leaving the^GR®®. After a fairly steep climb, you will reach the summit. View of Super-Besse and the Puys de Chambourguet, Champgourdeix and Paillaret.

(10) Descend via the same route as on the way up.

(9) Continue to the right, following the signs for Besse. You will come to a road; follow it to the left (towards Besse) to enjoy a view of Lac Pavin below. You will also see an information panel about Lac Pavin. Continue along the road for about 50 metres.

(11) At the yellow signs, leave the road and take the path on the right towards Estivadoux (^GR®® markings). Dogs, mountain bikes and horses are not allowed in this area. Cross two footbridges to reach the edge of Lake Estivadoux, a peat bog that can be flooded for part of the year. Leave the^{GR®® trail}, which branches off to the left, and note the information panel about the Lunar Trash artwork, which is a nod to the Apollo 11 mission and human behaviour towards the environment. A few metres further on, at the intersection with a path, continue straight ahead to enter the woods, in the direction of Les Maridas (yellow signs and yellow disc markings). At the next intersection, which is not shown on the map, turn right in the direction of the yellow signs.

(12) Further on, ignore a path on the left and, after another hundred metres or so, leave the woods. Ignore a path on the left that disappears into a field and, after a left-hand bend, you will come to an intersection with yellow signs.

(13) Turn left towards Grange Neuve. Further on, the path turns right. At the next crossroads, with yellow signs, follow the small road to the left towards the farm and Croullange. Pass to the right of a carved boundary stone.

(14) At the next intersection (yellow signs), turn left towards La Pierre Grosse. Shortly afterwards, ignore a path on the left and, just after that, take the path on the right. In Olpilière, you will come to a crossroads with a cross in the middle. Look out for the yellow signs and continue almost straight ahead, passing to the left of the cross, towards Espinat. Continue along this small road to leave the village.

(15) At the next crossroads, with yellow signs, continue straight ahead towards Les Sigavaux. You will come to a larger road. Continue along the small road opposite, towards Les Prés de la Ville (yellow signs), on the edge of the town of Besse. Ignore all the streets on the left and then a street on the right. Look for yellow signs at the next street on the right and take it towards Les Bobeloux.

(16) At the next intersection (bare yellow signs), follow the road to the left and pass a pretty chapel restored in 1993. Continue along the path that extends the road, then at the next intersection with yellow signs, continue left towards Thiaulaire.

(17) You will come to a small road; continue straight ahead (bare yellow signs). You will arrive in Thiaulaire at a beautiful cross and yellow signs. Follow the signs slightly to the left towards the château.

(18) Shortly afterwards, at the fork, continue straight ahead towards Ourcière (yellow signs). At the intersection with a path, continue to the right, following the sign for "Cascades de Chiloza" (Chiloza Waterfalls) and, shortly afterwards, you will find an information sign about lichens.

(19) At the next intersection, follow the path to the left, still in the direction of the Cascades de Chiloza (yellow signs). Continue downhill in wide hairpin bends and then cross the Couze Pavin on a footbridge.

(20) On the other side, turn left, following the direction of the waterfalls indicated by the yellow signs. Continue along the narrow path that runs alongside the stream on your left, with a series of small ascents and descents. Small waterfalls follow one after another below, as the stream crosses a rocky chaos. Be careful to follow the path, which sometimes fades a little, and pay attention to the yellow markings, despite the spectacle of the waterfalls.

(21) At the intersection with a path, follow the signs for the car park (yellow signs). Go around the waste collection centre on the right and you will arrive at the picnic area (S/E), on the edge of the D978.

This hike is classified as difficult due to its length (over 20 km) and significant elevation gain. There are also two fairly steep sections: the climb to Puy de Montchal and, at the end of the route, the path along the waterfalls. Standard hiking equipment

Please note: This hike is not suitable for hikers who do not enjoy long stretches on roads (even quiet ones) or farm tracks.

For a break in the shade, choose the woods between (11) and (12) because after that, the small roads and wide paths are exposed to the sun.

Many of the farms you pass on this route sell Saint-Nectaire cheese.

You can shorten and make the hike easier by not going back and forth to the summit of Puy de Montchal.

Please note: between (11) and (12), dogs, mountain bikes and horses are not permitted.

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

Besse is a pretty medieval village. I invite you to discover the village in more detail by following my hike "Discovering Besse for campers".

The Fontaine Goyon, also known as the Source des Rochers de Berthaire, is an iron-rich spring that flows at an altitude of 1,100 metres at a temperature of 1°C. It was named after Dr Goyon in the 19th century, who believed in the medicinal properties of its waters. It is a cold, iron-rich bicarbonate water. The inhabitants of Besse used it to treat sclerosis and anaemia. Today, many locals still hike to the fountain to bring back a few litres of this water, which is reputed to be good for your health. A project to bottle the fountain's water almost came to fruition but was halted by the First World War.
In 2014, the fountain was renovated by Serge Gatignol, who reused local stones and followed criteria that respected the original architecture and included grates to prevent leaves from accumulating in the water. The stonemason was inspired by the gargoyles of Notre-Dame in Paris when sculpting the fountain's spout. The Goyon Fountain is integrated into a rectangular enclosure, built of regularly laid stones, which is accessed by a stone staircase. The spring flows into a reservoir with a missing circular section. It is then carried to the Couze Pavin via a small canal, which is above ground for the first two metres and then underground (Info "la Montagne").

The Puy de Montchal, which rises to 1,407 metres, is the youngest volcano in France, at just 7,000 years old! At its foot lies Lac Pavin. Created by explosions caused by lava from the Puy de Montchal, this lake, surrounded by a beautiful forest of beech and conifer trees, has a diameter of 750 metres and is over 90 metres deep.
The crater of Puy de Montchal, covering an area of 600 m², forms a clearing in the dense coniferous forest covering the Puy. The steep slopes of this deeply carved crater are surprising. They are covered with a meadow full of flowers in summer. Walkers do not expect to find such a large crater in the heart of the forest. The clear contours of the crater are outlined by the edge of the forest.

Lac Pavin is a maar: following the eruption of Puy de Montchal, the subsidence of the magma created this deep crater with the water, known as phreatomagmatic activity. It is fed only by groundwater. At a depth of 93 metres, the water at the bottom does not mix with the surface water, an exceptional phenomenon studied by scientists.

The Chiloza waterfalls follow one another on the Couze Pavin, a torrent flowing from Lake Pavin. The "oules" or "giants' pots" carved into the lava line the riverbed.