Country:
District:
Park at Le Truel (12430), in the car park running alongside the Tarn, past the toilets and the children’s play area.
(S/E) From the car park, head right and make your way to the bridge over the Tarn; cross it and take the road (D200/D31) on the left.
(1) After about a hundred metres, once you have passed the stopover lodge, take a path leading uphill diagonally to the right. Begin a fairly steep climb through the woods on a path that is sometimes very rutted.
(2) You’ll come out onto a road; follow it to the left. At thefirst junction, turn right into the village of La Romiguière, heading towards the viewpoint. Climb the winding road to reach a junction (viewpoint, cross).
(3) Turn left and walk past the church. At the junction, turn right and then immediately left.
(4) At the road, turn left onto a concrete track. About a hundred metres further on, take a grassy track on the left. Enter a wood and descend slightly. Further on, turn right and descend more steeply. Cross a small stream and climb back up. Come out onto a small road at a place called Le Roujac.
(5) Continue a few metres to the right along the road and immediately turn left onto a path between two hedges. After about 150m, turn left and head downhill. At the bottom, cross a path and then the Ruisseau de Geneve via a concrete crossing. Head back up to the D31.
(6) Follow the road to the left for 300 m, then turn right after a rockfill onto a wide, ascending track.
(7) At thefirst fork, turn right. Take the first turn right then left and continue the climb through the forest. Note a small terraced vineyard on the left and the view over the Tarn. Continue along the path until you reach a tarmac road.
(8) Follow the road to the right and pass through the hamlet of La Fosse. Stay on the road, pass under the high-voltage power lines and reach the Raspes station (a stop on the road train that runs in summer, with a viewpoint). Then take the sloping path to the left to reach the site of Notre-Dame du Désert.
(9) Continue straight on for a few dozen metres, then walk around the site in either direction. Pass by the Notre-Dame-du-Désert Chapel and return to the junction.
(9) Next to the “Welcome to Notre-Dame-du-Désert” sign, take the small path on the left which descends steeply and winds through lovely woodland. You’ll come out onto the D200 road; follow it to the right.
(10) After about 250 m, take the Verdalle suspension bridge on the left, which crosses the Tarn. Continue along the road and take thefirst right towards Verdalle. Climb the winding road and enter the hamlet. After thefirst houses, turn left onto a grassy path. Soon ignore a path coming from the right and arrive at a junction.
(11) Turn sharply right and continue climbing through the forest. After skirting a cultivated field, you’ll reach a track. Follow the track to the left until you reach a road.
(12) Follow the road to the left and, after about ten metres, as you come out of the bend, take the path on the left leading down into the forest (blue marker).
A few metres further on, turn left again (Blue dot andPR® arrow).
Follow a very old path, which is in places badly worn and stony, running alongside old moss-covered stone walls, and descend to the Ruisseau de Coudols. Cross it via a wooden footbridge.
After a steep, uneven climb of a few metres up the embankment, you will reach the D510 road.
(13) Follow this road to the left and descend to the Tarn (note the Rocher de Cambras on the left). Just before the bridge, take a path on the right (yellow markings; picnic table). Immediately turn right into the rocks. Carefully follow the yellow markings on this gradual, stony climb up Roc Saint-Jean. Towards the end, a wooden staircase leads to the lovely viewpoint on the summit plateau (magnificent view of the confluence of the Tarn and the Ruisseau de Coudols, and opposite, of Notre-Dame du Désert).
(14) Leave the viewpoint and head north towards the village of Ayssènes, keeping to the right onto a path marked by wooden barriers. Cross the village (beautiful renovated houses, a chestnut drying shed, and the Chestnut and Religious Arts Museum). Walk past the church on your left.
(15) Turn diagonally left onto the small road signposted Moulin d'Ayssènes. Head downhill to the Ruisseau de Vernobre. Cross the stream and, immediately afterwards, follow the path on the left which climbs into the woods.
(16) When you reach a road, follow it to the left. Ignore the path on the left heading towards the Roc du Cavalier and pass the Oustals crémats. About thirty metres further on, after the bend (cross), take a grassy path to the left. Walk straight across the middle of the meadows with lovely views to the left. Then turn left and descend gently into the forest. Cross a stream and head back up. Reach Le Pouget (a 14th–15th-century fortified house) and follow the road to the right.
(17) At the houses, take the track to the left. The path, running along a ridge above the Tarn, is mainly through woodland but occasionally offers fine views to the left. A footbridge allows you to cross over a double penstock that feeds the Pouget hydroelectric plant situated below.
Continue along this magnificent path to thefirst houses of Le Truel. Then follow the D31 road to the left.
Walk past the church and, just after the cemetery, turn right onto the small street leading to the car park (S/E).
Association / Club / Walk leader
Moderate 
Visorando member
Easy 
