Montpezat-sous-Bauzon walks

Thanks to its geographical location, on the border between the southern Ardèche and the Monts d'Ardèche, Montpezat-sous-Bauzon is an ideal place to discover the astonishing lay and religious heritage of the area, from the fertile valley to the wild, rocky pastures, with remarkable views of the mountains and the Fontaulière plain. As you return to the valley, a rose garden awaits you for a moment of olfactory and visual pleasure.

A short walk from Montpezat to the hamlets of Les Grisières and Le Villaret, passing through a chestnut grove - the only slight difficulty on the route - and the humpback bridge, for a family outing.

Warning: do not attempt this hike until further notice (reopening scheduled for 2027)!The Cévenol storm in October 2024 caused a landslide above the point (4), which completely destroyed the communal path. A municipal notice prohibiting passage has been posted. There is no alternative route on this part of the circuit. A mid-season hike in spring or autumn starting from L'Air (or L'Herm), with varied landscapes and sections on quiet paved roads. Beautiful views of the Vauclare and Fontaulière valleys.

This beautiful and challenging hike will take you on a short journey to discover the passages invented by the locals to cross the basalt flows, take you to the old summer pastures of Fargebelle through steep chestnut groves, and as a bonus, show you the two magnificent bridges that span the Ardèche on either side of Thueyts.

An "airy" hike which will yield fine views over the Ardèche Cévennes, the Ardèche valley to the south and the Fontaulière valley to the north. The route follows some of the paths maintained for the "Giants' Causeway Trail" and overall is thus very practicable and without difficulty. A large part of the walk is waymarked white and yellow. Best done in May/June when the broom is in flower.

The route passes through the ruined hamlet of Fargebelle and crosses the northern flank of the Ardèche via a track that offers panoramic views of the peaks overlooking the opposite bank. You will also discover the splendid sites of the Devil's Bridge and the magnificent paved slanting streets of the Queen's Ladder and the King's Ladder.

Hike with varied landscapes, the Bourges valley with its basalt flows, chestnut woods and blueberry fields, hamlets with old houses. Superb view from the summit.

Superb trails and landscapes. Between Burzet and Les Sausses, on the left bank, the old Lachamp-Raphaël road is one of the most beautiful paved slanting streets in the Ardèche. On the right bank, on the way back, the old peatland road also has a wide, well-preserved paved slanting street under the chestnut trees and leads to the Roman road.

This lovely loop allows us to discover a section of the watershed on the heights of Burzet, at an altitude of 1,300 metres, which is very pleasant in summer when the valley is stifling. Along the way, we will discover a peat bog with the ruins of an old glassworks and the remains of a Strombolian crater.

This magnificent hike in Vivarais Cévenol follows trails and ridge paths offering beautiful views. The Bésorgues river, blocked by basalt flows, has shaped some remarkable sites. The ancient lava lake of Ranc Ranier and the prismatic neck of the Cheylard rock, from which you can enjoy a vast and exceptional 360° panorama, are geological curiosities not to be missed.

Superb hike on the Cime de Rouyon and the Rocher de Faux-Fay. Splendid panorama on the sides of the Bésorgues valley where paths, paved slanting streets, terraces and pastures draw the Ardèche mountain landscape: exceptional and wild landscape, magnificent basalt rocks, streams, torrents, impetuous waterfalls.

A magnificent hike that will take you to the summit of Pic de Ladenne with a 360° view of Jaujac and its volcano, the Tanargue massif, the Thueyts valley, Pont de Labeaume, Sainte-Marguerite, Fabras...

You are at the heart of the Ardèche. View of the Cevennes and the Gerbier de Jonc.

A very pretty hike through mountains, moors and fords. Magnificent undergrowth dotted with beautiful shaded passages.

Starting from Jaujac, climb up to Pic de Ladenne and Rocher de Courcoussat and descend via a circular route to Pont de l'Echelette in Bonneval. Magnificent panoramic views of the ridge line.

This is a fairly short climb that takes you to a summit offering a superb 360° panorama of the Ardèche mountains and the Alps. It is a simple round trip, most of which follows ridge paths with magnificent views. On the way back, take the time to visit the Ray-Pic waterfall.

Starting from Jaujac, there is a magnificent Roman bridge and impressive basalt columns on the banks of the Lignon. Tour via the Pont de l'Échelette, the Château de Rochemure (Maison du Parc Naturel Régional des Monts d'Ardèche) and finally climb the Coupe de Jaujac volcano with a tour of the crater.

The first stage of this two-day loop around the Rocher de Cheylard takes you from the edge of the Ray-Pic waterfall to Aizac, a small village in the Cévennes Ardéchoises, perched on a pass between Volane and Besorgues. Beech forests, broom-covered moors, chestnut trees, Roman roads, crystal-clear streams, passes with breathtaking views... you will walk from the Ardèche plateau to the lower Ardèche.

Two-day loop in the Cévennes Ardéchoises. The Besorgues and Bourges are two Cévennes rivers, or rather torrents, with crystal-clear waters.Between the two, a short walk from the famous Ray-Pic waterfall, the Rocher de Cheylard (1,412 m) offers a natural viewpoint over the surrounding landscape.On this two-day hike, you will discover these rugged landscapes, deep valleys, the edges of the Ardèche plateau, and small hamlets and villages nestled in the countryside.

At the confluence of three streams, the Gage, the Sagne-Morte and the Tauron, EDF built a dam known as the Gage dam (Moulin de Peyron on IGN maps) in the 1950s to supply the Montpezat-sous-Bauzon power station. I suggest you take a tour of the dam starting from Cros-de-Géorand, following a hiking route suggested by La Montagne Ardéchoise. You will discover magnificent landscapes as well as paths through beech woods that are over a hundred years old.

North of Lalevade-d'Ardèche, a hilly area is heavily affected by agricultural desertification. It is little known, except to its inhabitants and local hikers, but is nevertheless worth a detour. In Ardèche, the landscapes are beautiful everywhere. And this hike allows you to discover a gem, the Romanesque church of Niègles, rescued from ruin around 1980 by the Association des Amis de Niègles.

A hike on the highest part of the Tanargue ridge. With little elevation gain, you will enjoy magnificent views of the lower Ardèche, the Alps and the Ardèche plateau. In the height of summer, you will benefit from the coolness of the altitude and large shaded areas.

For all hikers, the Rocher d'Abraham can only be reached from Mayres. The circuit described below is for people who want to reach the summit with less effort. It can be done in an afternoon, is not particularly difficult, apart from the final ascent, and offers vast and magnificent landscapes throughout the route.

A hike on the highest part of the Tanargue ridge with magnificent panoramic views of the lower Ardèche, the Alps and the Ardèche plateau. The route has little elevation gain and is mostly on easy forest roads.

Don't forget your cameras for this walk, which will take you up to a ridge where you can enjoy exceptional views of the Ardèche plateau, the Aubenas basin and the Vercors. You will then plunge into the undergrowth to discover the small hamlets of Lentillères.In spring, the flora is very interesting.