Serre de Barre from Brahic

This is an easy hike that takes you to the summit of the Pays des Vans at an altitude of 910 metres. Beautiful 360-degree panoramic views.

Details

1989906
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.78 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 429 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 424 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 907 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 506 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Coming from Les Vans, park at the entrance to Brahic (just before or just after the sign) on the left.

(S/E) Continue along the road and go up the street on the right, passing under the archway.

(1) At the fork, turn right towards Les Alauzas. Pass the cemetery, leave the village and continue for about 200 metres.

(2) Take the path on the left (small cairn). Cross a forest track and continue along the well-marked path. This climbs gently through the undergrowth, in the shade of pine and chestnut trees. A few cairns mark the route.
After a large tree across the path, the climb becomes less steep and quickly reaches the ridge (Les Barres).
Le Serre de Barre is visible with its watchtower and relay antennas. Follow the ridge and descend towards a small pass (ruins of a shelter). Reach the Croix de Bancillon via a slightly steep descent.

(3) At the cross, continue straight ahead on the steep path that follows the summit, marked in red and white (GR®44). Reach the watchtower and pylons at Serre de Barre.

(4) After enjoying the view, return by the same path to the Croix de Bancillon.

(3) Turn right and continue on theGR®44. Descend for about 1 km.

(5) At the fork, turn left towards Brahic and join the road. A few metres later, pass a first gully, then two more. After the last one, find the start of a path on the left (distance covered on the road, approximately 1.3km).

(6) Follow this path to the left overlooking the road. Reach the village of Brahic and then the car park at the entrance to the village (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 506 m - Parking at the entrance to Brahic
  2. 1 : km 0.1 - alt. 512 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 0.3 - alt. 540 m - Path on the left
  4. 3 : km 1.78 - alt. 780 m - Croix de Bancillon
  5. 4 : km 2.31 - alt. 906 m - Serre de Barre (pylon)
  6. 5 : km 3.82 - alt. 643 m - Fork in the road, left
  7. 6 : km 5.08 - alt. 589 m - Path on the left
  8. S/E : km 6.78 - alt. 506 m - Parking at the entrance to Brahic

Notes

A good pair of shoes will suffice.

Worth a visit

From Serre de Barre, admire the Cévennes to the west. To the east, you can see the Plaine des Vans, criss-crossed by the Chassezac river.

 Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 13 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.2 / 5
Nathalie 37
Nathalie 37

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The start of the hike is quite steep but pleasant under the trees. Avoid taking this path after rain as there is a risk of slipping on pine needles.
Magnificent panorama from the lookout point.

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sylvinedusud
sylvinedusud

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Long steep climb to Serre de Barre, but it's worth it 😊

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HORTENSA
HORTENSA

Hike completed on 06/04/2024.
Great hike, quite a steep climb to the top but what a joy to discover the view.

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ARDECHOU
ARDECHOU

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Hike done this weekend, 15 December, with beautiful weather and the dog...
It's true that it's good to have Viso Rando for the start, but after that it's easy, you just have to follow the tracks.
According to my GPS, it's about 7 km with a 491 m elevation gain.
A word of warning to enthusiasts: the climb is a little steep, but it's no problem. It's under the trees, but it has its charm. On the other hand, once you arrive at Serre de Barre, you have a magnificent view and the first part of the descent is just superb.
So if you have an afternoon (3 hours) and don't know which hike to do, I recommend this one.

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HORTENSIA
HORTENSIA

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Hello
We had ideal weather on Friday, 5 April 2024, with temperatures between 15 and 16 degrees.
A few missing markers on paths not marked with a cross were really unpleasant, causing hesitation and delaying our hike.

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JPC07
JPC07

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The main attraction of this walk is the beautiful hamlet of BRAHIC and the view from the Serre de Barre viewpoint. The walk itself is not particularly interesting, as the dense vegetation blocks any panoramic views. I would recommend parking your car between points 6 and 5, walking up to Serre de Barre, then visiting BRAHIC on the way back or continuing via Le Frontal to MALONS and returning to LES VANS via the Col du MAS de l'AYRE.

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sjl30
sjl30

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Although we are experienced walkers, the first 2 kilometres are very difficult because of the steep gradient.
The view from the watchtower is magnificent, and we enjoyed it while we ate our lunch. A flock of sheep kept us company.

The village of Brahic, with its schist houses, is typical of the Cévennes region.

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JODIDO
JODIDO
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

After two long hikes of 15 and 23 kilometres on the previous days, we opted for a short, easy walk.
The description of the start seems a little confusing to me, because we actually turned left at the first crossroads after the cemetery, which meant we had to walk a little way along the road.
Should we have continued straight on towards Les Alauzas?
We stayed at the summit for about twenty minutes to admire the beautiful views of the region before returning to Brahic by the same route we had taken on the way there.
The hike was not difficult and took us 3 hours and 25 minutes in total. The weather was sunny with a few clouds.

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

Could you correct it to 530 m instead of 860, which seems excessive?

It's done, automatically.

Actions ==> Recalculate altitudes

Positive elevation gain Positive elevation gain: 433 m
Negative elevation gain Negative elevation gain: 425 m

A+

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TaX38
TaX38

Hello
It seems that my GPS gave an incorrect elevation reading. Could you please correct it to 530 m instead of 860 m, which seems excessive?
Thank you

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Kevengwen
Kevengwen
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 17, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A beautiful, short and not very difficult hike.
Superb view from the summit of Serre de Barre. Very pretty village of Brahic.

Error in the elevation gain: 530m according to my GPS

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gul15
gul15

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk, which we extended on the way down by passing through the pretty hamlets of La Coste and Murjas.

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jfacel16
jfacel16

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice hike with beautiful views at the summit.
Error in the elevation gain (~500m instead of the advertised 800m), so it can be done more quickly (about 2 hours for us).

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josoud
josoud

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A good climb, quite steep in places, with a light breeze keeping you from sweating too much.
Beautiful viewpoint from the summit with unobstructed views of Tanargue, Escrinet, and as far as the Alps to the east...

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olivier duchesnay
olivier duchesnay

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very nice hike. The views at the summit are very nice. Thank you for this hike.

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