The Fairy Chimneys of Boudes

The Sentier des Cheminées de Fées trail leads to a dry forest with a series of viewpoints overlooking geological formations: fairy chimneys, cirques and multicoloured cliffs.

Details

5967738
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 5.55 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 158 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 153 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 554 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 458 m

Description of the walk

When arriving from the motorway, park in the car park at the entrance to the village.

(S/E) From the car park, take the main street on the left. At the fork, turn left onto Rue du Coufin. Cross Place de la Mairie, and at Place de l'Église, take a small street on the right to go around the church. Return to Place de l'Église, then take Rue des Forts on the right. Turn immediately left onto Rue du Theur, heading towards Vallée des Saints.

(1) After the bridge, turn right onto Rue de l'Avoiron, then left onto Impasse du Ribassou. Continue straight ahead, following the signs for "Vallée des Saints" until you reach a four-way crossroads with an iron cross (360° panoramic view, vineyards and village of Boudes, village of Bard).

(2) Continue straight ahead on a gently sloping path until you reach a T-junction. Turn right and continue downhill to the hamlet of Bard.

(3) At the first crossroads at the entrance to the hamlet, turn right and cross the Mailly farm. Leave the village, then turn right onto a narrower path (you can see the salt springs of Bard). Continue along the path to the viewpoints. After two viewpoints, take a path on the right for 80 m to the 180° panorama of the Cirque des Mottes.

(4) Turn back along the path to the main road. Continue to the right until you reach a wider path for 50 metres.

(5) Descend to the left to the Vallon des Fosses. Here you can see fairy chimneys.
You may choose not to go there: the descent and ascent are quite steep.

(6) Turn back to the main path.

(5) Turn left onto the wide path to reach the crossroads from the outward journey.

(2) Return along the same path to the bridge.

(1) After crossing it, turn right onto Rue du Couzillou. At the T-junction, stay on Rue du Couzillou on the left, then turn right onto Rue du Curator.
Turn right onto Rue du Coufin to reach the main street. Turn right to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 458 m - Car park at the entrance to the village
  2. 1 : km 0.44 - alt. 462 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 0.95 - alt. 516 m - Crossroads of 4 paths
  4. 3 : km 2.04 - alt. 480 m - Hamlet of Bard
  5. 4 : km 2.97 - alt. 545 m - Cirque des Mottes
  6. 5 : km 3.2 - alt. 550 m - Common fork A/R. Towards Vallon des Fosses
  7. 6 : km 3.5 - alt. 504 m - Vallon des Fosses
  8. S/E : km 5.55 - alt. 458 m - Car park at the entrance to the village

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 8 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
jjdolo
jjdolo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent landscapes. It feels like being in one of the great American parks! The route is well marked and easy to follow.

Machine-translated

beda37
beda37

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pretty route that takes us on a tour of the Auvergne Colorado with its colourful cliffs and a sparkling water spring dating back to Roman times, and takes us through vineyards that are once again making the pretty little village of Boudes famous.

Machine-translated

Filgood
Filgood

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

A very popular weekend walk that we completed in 1½ hours to admire the geological formations of the Valley of Saints. Unfortunately, the vegetation obscures many of the views. This walk is not difficult.

Machine-translated

godillot49
godillot49

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very well-designed car park, interesting geological features

Machine-translated

Sissi63
Sissi63

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant little route. No particular difficulties.

Machine-translated

Banne
Banne

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

An interesting walk, mostly through woodland. An original geological discovery. The hike is easy, with a slight slope to reach the site built on the fairy chimneys. The abundant vegetation at the start of summer obscures some of the views. A beautiful discovery of a water source bubbling in its basin.
The return trip through the vineyards without shade can be a bit difficult in hot weather.

Machine-translated

alain42
alain42

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hello, great route with beautiful views of the chimneys and the spring (try the water). Short detour through the little village of Bard. You might want to do the route in reverse, as the return trip from Bard is in full sun among the vineyards.
On that day, the army was everywhere on the trail, so it wasn't very peaceful.

Machine-translated

Ewighol
Ewighol

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A hike that allows you to see these amazing geological formations up close!
We took the trail in the "wrong" direction, but in the end, it was perhaps just as well to return via the back country.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.