The Combefouillouse Valley

From the Lot to the Alayrac plateau, climbing up a valley with rushing waters in a refreshingly peaceful setting surrounded by lush nature.

Details

52461
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.63 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 249 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 252 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 580 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 331 m

Description of the walk

Park in the car park of the Francis Poulenc Social and Cultural Centre.

(S/E) Continue along the D920 and immediately turn right onto Rue Du Docteur Gabriac, then right onto Rue Octave Portal to pass to the left of the Anne Frank School, on the right bank of the Lot, and continue to the D920.

(1). Cross the small bridge on the left and immediately turn right towards Combefouillouse. Admire some beautiful 1930s houses as you pass.

(2) After the beautiful house on the right (former oil mill), turn right onto a path along the stream until you reach the first crossroads.

(3) Continue straight ahead. Climb up through the woods to reach a track at the corner of a field after 1 km.

(4) Follow it to the right until you reach the small road leading to Lasbinals.
Turn left and leave the Bertholène service road on your right.

(5) After passing the calvary, turn right onto a grassy path that skirts around pastures and joins a trail coming from Bertholène.

(6) Continue downhill to the left towards a small stream, overlooking the old terraces. Go up to the right until you reach the Alayrac road.

(7) Follow it to the right to the village. From the square, take the small street on the right, then a small passage on the left to rejoin the Espalion road.

(8) Turn right at the fork. Follow the D136E down towards the valley. Cut across two sharp bends via tracks. Follow the road through the Le Roucat housing estate and join the D920.

(9) Turn left and arrive at the initial fork.

(1) Take the reverse route of the outward journey to return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 336 m - Francis Poulenc Social and Cultural Centre
  2. 1 : km 0.75 - alt. 335 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.63 - alt. 356 m - Old oil mill
  4. 3 : km 2.2 - alt. 383 m - Crossroads
  5. 4 : km 3.41 - alt. 546 m - Track at the corner of a field
  6. 5 : km 4.32 - alt. 578 m - Calvary. Fork
  7. 6 : km 5.09 - alt. 509 m - Crossing path, on the left
  8. 7 : km 5.5 - alt. 511 m - Alayrac road
  9. 8 : km 6.89 - alt. 479 m - D136E
  10. 9 : km 8.66 - alt. 339 m - D920
  11. S/E : km 9.63 - alt. 336 m - Francis Poulenc Social and Cultural Centre

Notes

Yellow markings.

Worth a visit

Alayrac Church: partly Gothic from the 15th century with a Pietà from that period and 18th-century altarpieces.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 9 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
User 22989254

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 04, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A magnificent, interesting route, fairly easy but sometimes not very well signposted at certain junctions!

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User 10459468

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice with a lovely climb to start with. Done in the rain with slippery leaves and stones, so good footwear is recommended!
Breathtaking Aveyron countryside (I love it), little donkeys begging to be stroked and woodland with intoxicating scents
I recommend it

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Lac Fab
Lac Fab
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful hike.
Beautiful views of the terraces, Château de Calmont d'Olt, crossing the pretty little village of Alayrac.

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Wandal'aventure
Wandal'aventure

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 11, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very pleasant parish-specific to Brittany afternoon hike when the fog lifted over Espalion. A beautiful glimpse of the wildlife, dry stone landscapes and surrounding valleys – very nice!

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mado Roblin
mado Roblin

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Easy hike with lovely views, particularly of Calmont Castle.

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balou17
balou17

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Go for it, beautiful view of the lot; best to do it in April to enjoy the views. Still caterpillars, but to a lesser extent.

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Slak
Slak

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

BEWARE on this hike,
We went on 8 August, and the entire first part of the route, about 3 km, i.e. the entire climb up the valley, was infested with caterpillars (box tree moths?). All the trees along the path had been devoured, and we had to navigate through the webs and hanging caterpillars by waving our sticks around...
It was a shame for the quality of the landscape at the start of the hike, but hopefully the vegetation will recover...

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gisela
gisela

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The route begins rather unremarkably, but then brings one surprise after another. Wide views after a pleasant climb.

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bouchfira
bouchfira

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 20, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

very beautiful hike with beautiful views

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