Country:
District:
Parking in Montgesoye, in the centre of the village, opposite the war memorial. Yellow and blue signposts.
(S/E) Head towards the Virgin Mary statue and turn right onto Rue Sous Mouthier, towards Belvédère de la Thuyère. Turn left at the first street and climb the stairs at No. 4 to visit the church and its old tombs.
(1) Walk along the church on your left and follow the signs on the left, walking along a wall. Pass the town hall and, at the top of Rue de la Ville Haute, turn right and continue towards Cascades de Vau along the small tarmac road.
(2) After the first bend, turn immediately left onto the stony path after the electricity transformer with the street signs Ville Haute and Sous Tangelet. This pretty path, accompanied by the murmur of the stream, with the charming name Chemin des Prés, will take you to the end of the small valley. When you come out of the woods, you will see beautiful views on the left of the limestone cornices typical of the upper Loue valley. Continue straight ahead to the end of the valley, leaving a first marked path on your left and a second on your right.
(3) You will enter the woods. Further on, the path merges with the stream bed. Continue along the path on the right to rejoin it further on. You will cross a pine forest where the path narrows to a trail.
(4) About 50 metres after the end of the pine forest, look out for the yellow and blue marker and a small sign with the number 2 on a blue triangle at the foot of a path that branches off to the left and takes you across the stream on a beam. This will require a bit of gymnastic skill, as it is narrow and the wooden handrail is a little rickety. On the other side, turn right and follow the stream along the other bank. You will soon come to another beam to cross. Turn left onto the wider path that leads to the end of the valley and its beautiful waterfall after crossing the stream twice.
(5) Take exactly the same path, to avoid any confusion, until you reach the footbridge without crossing it.
(4) Continue straight ahead (blue triangle markings). The path moves away from the Vau stream and follows a smaller one, climbing up a new wild valley to a tufa waterfall. Shortly after the waterfall, you will cross the stream and quickly come to a beautiful wide forest path.
(6) Caution! Much further on (2.5 km), after following the ledges with a few windows overlooking Montgesoye, you will come to a first path on your left, which you should ignore. Then, fifty metres further on, you will see two signs on the right and left. Go down this path on the left (towards Montgesoye). You will come to a path perpendicular to this one; continue downhill to the right.
(7) When the path turns 90° to the left, at the sign for Variante Belvédère de la Thuyère, go up to the right, following the red diamond signpost 5, and continue to the viewpoint.
(8) Leave the viewpoint via the path on the left (when you have your back to the viewpoint), at the end of the second picnic table. This path runs along the cliffs. When it turns away from the cliffs, facing a meadow, turn left to reach the viewpoint car park. Go down the D133 on the left for about 300 m.
(9) Look for the signpost on the left and go down the path on the left.
(10) When you come out of the woods, at a fork, take the path going up to the left, which is stony for a few metres and quickly becomes grassy. There are beautiful views of the valley towards Ornans. Go through a metal gate and close it behind you. This is a beautiful sunny path overlooking the village.
(11) You will arrive at a paved road. At the foot of the reservoir, there is a small tufa stream. Pass the old electrical transformer and turn right despite the crosses. Before the fountain, turn left until you reach the church. Take the stairs again, then turn right until you reach the car park (S/E).
The route includes cliff-side paths and unsecured viewpoints. Rocky and slippery paths in places. Good walking shoes are essential and walking sticks are recommended.
Visorando member
Easy 
