Niervèze and Chaos de Casteltinet

A walk in the mountains among cows and typical Cantal landscapes. Niervèze, a lively mountain village, and the geological curiosity of Chaos de Casteltinet and its impressive Lion's Gate are on the programme. Yellow markings.

Details

2538663
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.77 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 297 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 288 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,025 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 810 m

Photos

Description of the walk

From Thiézac, head to the hamlet of La Goutte, cross it and take the first road on the right. Park immediately after passing under the railway bridge.

(S/E) Go back down the road to the wash house/watering place in the hamlet of La Goutte and, a few metres further down, take the path on the right marked in yellow, heading north-east.

(1) After passing a farm, turn left onto the tarmac road. After 250m, the road turns sharply left, so take the dirt road on the right. The climb is gentle at first, then gradually becomes steeper.

(2) A little further on, ignore the sign for Chambonet on the left and continue straight ahead. The climb is steep. Pass under a railway bridge. You will reach Buron Les Granières at the end of the climb. Take the flat tarmac road to the right.

(3) Leave it to enter the hamlet of Niervèze via a path. At the bread oven, take the path on the right, marked Chemin de Saint-Jacques with the famous shells. Follow the signs for Moulin de Niervèze until you reach it.

(4) Cross the stream and rejoin the paved road. Continue to the hamlet of Lafon.

(5) Take the road that descends to the right, then immediately take the path to the left, signposted Chaos du Casteltinet. From here, followthe GR® BlancRouge markings, in addition to the yellow markings. Pass a waterfall. 100m further on, stay on the path to the left
.
(6) Cross the Chaos de Casteltinet, an interesting geological feature. In the chaos, you will reach the impressive natural arch of the Porte du Lion.

(7) Pass under this arch. Follow the markings downhill. Pass under the railway line to reach the car park at La Goutte (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 850 m - Parking - Chaos de Casteltinet
  2. 1 : km 1.68 - alt. 835 m - After the farm, take the paved road on the left
  3. 2 : km 2.64 - alt. 883 m - Straight ahead
  4. 3 : km 3.46 - alt. 1,025 m - Niervèze
  5. 4 : km 3.74 - alt. 1,002 m - Niervèze Mill
  6. 5 : km 4.88 - alt. 978 m - Lafon
  7. 6 : km 5.53 - alt. 995 m - Chaos de Casteltinet
  8. 7 : km 6.21 - alt. 938 m - Lion's Gate - Chaos de Casteltinet
  9. S/E : km 6.77 - alt. 850 m - Parking

Notes

Find photos of this hike on the Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/randonne...
Search for Chaos De Casteltinet.

Hikes in the shade in the morning.
The background noise from the road remains annoying until (2).

Worth a visit

(3) Niervèze. A pretty little village in the Cantal mountains. Bread festival every year on a Sunday in mid-August: the bread oven is in operation and the village is in celebration.

(4) The Niervèze mill is in operation and can be visited on Thursdays and Sundays in July and August.

(6) The Chaos de Casteltinet is a pile of huge boulders of all shapes and sizes that have fallen from the cliff. It stretches for over a kilometre.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 21 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
mariecabuzel
mariecabuzel

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

You can park near the watering trough as long as you keep your car as far away from it as possible (this will prevent you from meeting the farmer who was watering his cows and who was quite aggressive). He meant no harm, but I understand his reaction.

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

The start of the hike is now at the railway bridge, where there is space to park a few cars.

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Claudio77
Claudio77

Hello,
Sorry, a practical question
we can no longer park near the cow trough in Lagoutte
so further away, on the road to Niervèze, is that really possible?
it would save me a few kilometres of tarmac...
Thanks, all the best...

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JackieL
JackieL

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful and interesting hike. It is a bit physically demanding, though, as there are some steep climbs.
Please note: to reach the farm at point 1, the path crosses pastures. If you have a dog, even if it is on a leash, it is best not to cross fields where there are cows. Cows do not like unfamiliar dogs and may become very aggressive.

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Philou10
Philou10

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike done in June 2024, nice, easy and very diverse route with different landscapes, forest, village, rocks.
Bu

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Ania
Ania

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

if you park in the large car park before Lagoutte, the route is a little longer: 8 km, yellow trail from "la porte du lion" (the lion's gate)

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VCANET
VCANET

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant afternoon hike after a five-hour drive in the morning.

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Vazizi
Vazizi

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful walk
Well signposted and very shaded

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike with hamlets, rugged terrain and the surprising Lion's Gate.

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smashdc
smashdc
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 01, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

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marrirando
marrirando

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Great hike, very well signposted.
Very pretty paths through the woods.
The hamlet of Niervèze is stunning.
Magnificent chaos of casteltinet and the highlight of the walk, the lion's gate.

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KarLKoX
KarLKoX
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk with no major difficulties.
There are one or two steep climbs, but what goes up must come down
Mostly shaded, with a small picnic table at 3.4 km (at the mill)
Suitable for families if you take it easy on the climbs.
The distance is accurate: 6.88 km according to my watch and 6.67 km according to the VisoRando app
I should point out that I am fully proficient in distance measurement (I am a running coach)
My Strava route: https://www.strava.com/activities/584131...

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Snoer
Snoer
shapiro
shapiro
• Edited:

Hello, glad you enjoyed the hike.

The author of the guide (me) has no control over the distance and elevation information. These are calculated automatically by the website using IGN terrain models. The elevation estimate is often underestimated, but the distance should be correct. Did you keep a GPS record of your route so we can try to see where the problem is? If you used the smartphone app, it should have been recorded automatically.

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Snoer
Snoer

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and varied hike that is very well signposted. Picnic tables at the mill and in Niervèze.
However, there was one major downside compared to the guidebook: my watch showed 8.5 km, whereas our GPS route matched the route on the map in the guidebook. This is almost 30% longer than the 6.5 km advertised, which is not insignificant, especially for children. Fortunately, our 5-year-old is a good runner!

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