Lac Pavin and Lac de Montcineyre from Besse

Hike in the Auvergne Volcanoes Park, starting from Besse (located an hour's drive south of Clermont-Ferrand). The discovery trail starting from the Hôtel le Clos combines wooded areas and open countryside, passing by Lake Pavin and Lake Montcineyre (swimming is prohibited in both).

The trail is very well marked throughout (markings and signs).

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 21.42 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 45 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 560 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 557 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,400 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,017 m

Photos

Description of the walk

We start on the discovery trail from the Hôtel le Clos in Besse (yellow markings). The path is well marked (markings and directional signs) to Lake Pavin.

(S/E) From the Hôtel le Clos, follow the yellow markings that run along the D978 on your left. You will pass through a wooded area where the Goyon fountain (not drinkable) is located.

(1) After the wooded area, you will walk through a pasture (without disturbing the cows if possible) which will lead you to a paved road.

On your left is the D149 (which goes to Super Besse) and, parallel to it, the D978. Cross both roads to reach the Lac Pavin car park.

(2) When you arrive at Lake Pavin, you can walk around it either on the left or on the right.
The route indicates the passage through Puy de Montchal. (3)

From there, several paths intersect, but don't worry, just follow the signs for Creux de Soucy (4) or head towards Lac Montcineyre, which you take to the right (5).

Follow the signs to Lac Montcineyre.

To return to Besse, when you are facing Lac Montcineyre, take the path on the left (not the one that goes around the lake) and then immediately turn right.

(6) This path will take you to the D36, which you will follow for about 2 km. You will pass the path that leads to Lake Bourdouze (which will be on your right).

(7) Opposite the path leading to Lake Bourdouze, take the path that cuts across the landscape to the right. Follow it straight ahead and it will take you to the village of Anglard.

When you enter Anglard, continue straight ahead and then, at the exit, take the path on the left that descends steeply (not the mountain bike trail).
You will cross the D36 and continue straight ahead.

(8) Please note that the path after the D36 is not clearly visible. Continue straight ahead until you reach the wooded area, which climbs steeply for a few metres to Chandèze.

(9) In Chandèze, take the paved road on the right and follow it until you reach theGR®30to arrive in Besse. (S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,022 m - Besse - Hôtel le Clos
  2. 1 : km 2.05 - alt. 1,086 m - Goyon Fountain - Couze Pavin (rivière) à finaliser
  3. 2 : km 4.66 - alt. 1,197 m - Lac Pavin
  4. 3 : km 6.65 - alt. 1,399 m - Puy Montchal
  5. 4 : km 8.18 - alt. 1,267 m - Creux de Soucy
  6. 5 : km 8.9 - alt. 1,252 m - Intersection
  7. 6 : km 11.9 - alt. 1,183 m - Lac de Montcineyre
  8. 7 : km 14.81 - alt. 1,181 m - Lac de Bourdouze
  9. 8 : km 17.5 - alt. 1,060 m - Path after the D36
  10. 9 : km 18.36 - alt. 1,131 m - Chandèze - road to Besse
  11. S/E : km 21.41 - alt. 1,022 m - Besse - Hôtel le Clos

Notes

From Lake Pavin, signs regularly indicate the direction to follow.

At Lake Montcineyre, follow the sign for Besse.

Between Anglard and Chandèze, we got a little disoriented as the markings became less frequent. Coming down from Anglard, when you cross the D36, follow the path to the wooded area. From there, a small hill takes you to Chandèze. Once in Chandèze, follow the road to the right.

There is a restaurant opposite Lake Pavin, where you can fill your water bottles at the public toilets.

Worth a visit

Swimming in Lake Pavin and Lake Montcineyre is prohibited.

We didn't make the short detour to the Anglard (or Vaucoux) waterfall, but judging by the photos, it's a very pretty waterfall!

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.

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 20 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
User 22147660

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice loop.
A bit lost at the top of Puy Montchal
Quite a few interesting sights, including a pretty turret at Lake Montcineyre, the Soucy hollow (inaccessible but visible from 2-3 metres away) and a work of art called "Horizons Sancy" at Lake Gourdouze.
I find the road crossing quite dangerous.

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Jacqueline B
Jacqueline B

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk, beautiful scenery, shame there's a bit of road involved

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Pierre44310
Pierre44310

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The route is fairly well marked up to Lake Pavin, but the markings after that have been erased. The end of this loop is along the road, and the total distance is closer to 28 km.

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vegefra
vegefra

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 26, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A detour to see the Anglars waterfall is recommended

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mitzu
mitzu

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 11, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A long journey

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Roux Genevieve
Roux Genevieve

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful parish-specific to Brittany hike. Best done in good weather to fully enjoy the view

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François Baudoin
François Baudoin

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 25, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I only rated it as average because between Anglade and Chandèze, barbed wire blocked access to the meadow, and it was impossible to open it without pliers! Clearly, the owner didn't want people passing through there. So we pushed on to the waterfall car park and then followed the path back to Besse via Trabantoux.
Apart from this minor hiccup, it was a magnificent hike!

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Michel lacroix
Michel lacroix

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike that could be classified as moderately difficult.
Beautiful scenery with drinking water available.
Super

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JM Maquet
JM Maquet

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike. But we decided to extend it (and improve it?): after Anglard, we went to admire the Vaucoux waterfall and then we returned to Besse by climbing up through Trabandoux.

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elisabeth maury
elisabeth maury

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

It's good to have the map in a GPS device or to have the IGN map

The description plus the map is the minimum.
Adding a GPS and/or the Visorando GPS app is the best.

See you soon!

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romyroz
romyroz

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful two-day hike with a bivouac at Lake Montcineyre (be sure to camp near the rocks close to the house). The guard kindly offered to fill our water bottles. The landscapes: Lake Pavin, Puy Montchal and Lake Montcineyre are magnificent. It's a good idea to have the map on a GPS or to have the IGN map because the signs no longer show the directions (they have been worn away by time). Thank you for sharing this

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63Vincent
63Vincent

See you on the next hike...
Best regards

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bibi
bibi ★

Thank you for this additional information. I have tried to complete the description.
Kind regards

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63Vincent
63Vincent

Hello,
As I mentioned, at the exit from Anglard towards point 8, the first crossroads is poorly signposted before reaching the D36 (do not take the mountain bike trail but the steep path opposite).
At point 8 towards Chandeze, there is a 300-metre stretch of road that is difficult to navigate, with yellow markers that are difficult to see, until you reach the entrance to the road leading up into the woods, where there is a ladder.
Your explanation is very clear on your app but difficult to see on the ground.
At point 9, head in the opposite direction: take the Grange Neuve path instead of following the road to the right, bearing in mind that this path joins the GR 30 to reach Besse.
Otherwise, your hike is magnificent and well signposted overall.

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