Le Moure de la Gardille and the sources of the Allier

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A beautiful route around the little-known sources of the Allier.

Details

n°25557669
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.54 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 00 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 249 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 247 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,502 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,357 m
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Photos

panorama
This is where the Allier River begins.
View towards the north-east from the summit of Moure de la Gardille
Cross at the summit of Moure de la Gardille

Description of the walk

Car park at the Cougnet crossroads on the D71 between Cheylard-l'Évêque and Les Chazeaux.

(S/E) Cross the road and take the wide track that climbs slightly to a fork about 500 m away.

(1) Take the track on the left, which climbs a little more steeply (signposted Moure de la Gardille).

(2) At the sign, take the slightly steeper path on the left that climbs towards Moure de Gardille (1,503 m).
From the summit (metal cross), there is a 360° view and you can see Mont Gerbier des Joncs to the north-east, a well-known and very popular spot where the Loire river has its source.

(3) Descend via a path that branches off to the left and meets a fence that you follow all the way. Cut across theGR®®470and rejoin it a few metres further on.

(4) Follow it to the left and you will come to the very wide track taken by theGR®®7.

(5) Ignore the return path on the right. Continue on theGR®®7trail eastwards until you reach a fork.

(6) Turn onto the path that branches off to the right and descends slightly, and follow it for about 800 m.

(7) Turn right onto a small hairpin path under the trees (the start is not easy to find). This fairly wide path is very poorly maintained with beech regrowth but is fairly easy to follow. After a section through the forest, it disappears, but there are only a few metres of heathland to cross to rejoin theGR®®7trail.

(6) Turn left to retrace your steps to the fork in the path.

(5) Leave theGR®®7. Descend to the left, following the sign for "Source de l'Allier".

(8) After 500 m, turn left towards the bottom of the valley to reach the source of the Allier. Signposted "Source remarquable de l'Allier" (Remarkable source of the Allier).

(9) Return to the trail.

(8) Continue downhill to the left until you reach the signs indicating the sources of the Chassezac.

(10) Head in this direction by turning right, north-north-west, and follow the forest track to the junction withthe GR®®7.

(11) Cross over and continue along the track until you reach the first fork on the way out.

(1) Turn left to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,357 m - Car park at Carrefour de Cougnet
  2. 1 : km 0.39 - alt. 1,386 m - Crossroads of the circular
  3. 2 : km 1.69 - alt. 1,502 m - Moure de la Gardille sign
  4. 3 : km 1.95 - alt. 1,497 m - Le Moure de la Gardille
  5. 4 : km 2.48 - alt. 1,496 m - GR470
  6. 5 : km 2.81 - alt. 1,475 m - Crossroads of the circular
  7. 6 : km 3.6 - alt. 1,476 m - Fork towards the sources of the Allier
  8. 7 : km 4.57 - alt. 1,427 m - Hairpin turn
  9. 8 : km 6.81 - alt. 1,407 m - Access to the remarkable source of the - Allier (rivière)
  10. 9 : km 6.94 - alt. 1,396 m - Source "remarquable" de l'Allier
  11. 10 : km 8.06 - alt. 1,396 m - Fork
  12. 11 : km 9.86 - alt. 1,424 m - Crossing the GR°°®°°7. Passage near the sources of the - Chassezac (rivière)
  13. S/E : km 11.53 - alt. 1,357 m - Car park at Carrefour de Cougnet

Notes

An easy hike on wide tracks with fairly clear signposts, except for the section between points (6) and (7), which is unmarked.

Worth a visit

The source of the Allier river, marked by a sign indicating "La source remarquable" (The remarkable source), is clearly visible and offers the opportunity to fill your water bottle.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

3.5 / 5
Based on 12 reviews
Reliability of the description
3.3 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.3 / 5
Route interest
3.8 / 5
La Fileuse de Mots
La Fileuse de Mots
• Edited:

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

I find the description unreliable, the paths are not well marked, we lost our way after fifteen minutes, at the Col du Moure de la Gardille.
We couldn't complete the circular, so we walked along a dirt track for a one-way trip, which wasn't great.
I think GPS will be more reliable.
We'll use it next time.

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geneviève34
geneviève34
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We had to turn back after 3 km because of the snow and lots of broken branches.
We'll have to try again at another time.

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Philippe1745
Philippe1745

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant, varied route, especially the wooded section in the yew forest. Not difficult. The sources of the Allier are not easy to find, but the natural setting is interesting because it is unusual. The climb to the orientation table offers a panoramic view that is well worth discovering.

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juju07
juju07

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk on the Moure de la Gardille. Although there wasn't much shade as the trees had no leaves at the beginning of April, this is a hike to do in summer.

The 5-6-7 circular doesn't add much to the walk. The first part is on a "motorway" perched on the ridge with no shade, the second part is in a heath forest, the third part is on an old forest path that is now overgrown with beech trees and where progress is quite difficult, then back via the motorway...

The view from the cross is superb and deserves to be more popular!

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Pégase07530
Pégase07530

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Interesting, even if, as with almost all river sources, there isn't much to see.
Le Moure de la Gardille: yes, there's a view of Le Gerbier, but that's not all; there's also Le Mézenc, Le Ventoux, Le Vercors, etc. It's a magnificent viewpoint up there.
A few (im)precise details: at "(8) Continue downhill to the left"... it's not a descent, but an ascent to point 1497 m before descending to point (10). Furthermore, at this last point, there is no sign indicating "sources du Chassezac" (Chassezac springs).
The hike is enjoyable and relaxing! Thank you to the author.

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Daniel Maciocia
Daniel Maciocia

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The only point of interest is the Gardille waterfall. Winding route. The source of the Allier river is of no interest.

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jpvls
jpvls

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 19, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We started at point 1 to only do the Mourre de la Gardille viewpoint.
Gardille viewpoint.

Apart from the nice view over the Margeride region and beyond, the rest
to get there is mostly just a trail through a beech forest.

I have no further comments to make as I did not complete the rest of the hike...

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mipauvert
mipauvert

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Wide, rocky road almost the entire way. A few semi-trailers filled with wood chips...disappointing summit. On the other hand, a very beautiful beech forest and plenty of shade, which is important when it's 34°C!

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jlm42
jlm42
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful route that remains in the shade of the beech forest for most of the way. We didn't do sections 6-7 based on previous reviews. The view from the summit is 180° and well worth it. The sources of the Allier River are surprising. The route is very easy to find (no problem with GPS). A peaceful walk, we hardly saw anyone in the middle of August, and it stayed cool!
Many thanks for sharing. We'll be back!

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Rando Léguevin
Rando Léguevin

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

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

The 6/7 circular should be avoided. Except in one direction where the path is clearly visible, in the other direction, vegetation has taken over and closed everything off. It can no longer be considered a hiking trail, so you need a GPS to make sure you don't get lost and be prepared to venture into difficult terrain.
As for the source of the Allier, a tiny trickle of water emerges in the lower part and is immediately swallowed up by the ground. So it's a bit disappointing... Let's hope that the lack of water doesn't reach Nevers one day...
The only positive point is the views of the surrounding area from the open spots, in good weather of course.

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ChZambaux
ChZambaux

Hello

The route offers a visit to two of the listed sources of the Aller.

The small circular route between points 5 to 7 is indeed a little difficult to follow without GPS tracking because the path from point 7 is neither marked nor maintained and its starting point is not easy to find: we had to search around a lot and I find it difficult to improve the description in the absence of any notable features.

I don't understand what confusion (Loire instead of Allier) in the description you are referring to?

Kind regards

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Michelle Ducarre
Michelle Ducarre

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We reached the summit and found the first source, but with the description we couldn't find the second source. The description wasn't very clear after the first source, and there was a mistake: it said LOIRE instead of ALLIER. Please check your paperwork.
But we followed the path back.
An interesting route.
We didn't have internet access, so we used the map and your explanations to guide us.

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Jfslcd
Jfslcd

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Description very confusing when all you have to do is follow the yellow trail. Stunning view from the cross. No more signs for the spring found by chance at a small cairn.

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