Puy de Gourdon via Puy de la Rodde

When arriving in Montaigut from Champeix via the D996, park at the entrance to the village in a car park on the left-hand side of the road. Note the gable of a house decorated with ceramic tiles.

Yellow markings

(S/E) Leave the car park by going back up the D996 and turn left until you reach the intersection with two streets branching off to the right.

Red and yellow^GRP®® markings

Leave the yellow markings and follow the Rue du Pont to the right, around a hairpin bend. Shortly afterwards, you will see the red and yellow markings for^{the GRP®®} Tour d'Issoire. Continue straight ahead at the cross.

No markings

(1) At the next intersection, leave the markings briefly and turn left to pass under an old rampart gate and climb up to the church. Note the beautiful façade of an old castle. Retrace your steps.

^GRP®® Red and Yellow markings

(1) Continue left on the^GRP®®. When you reach the cemetery, cross the bridge over the Ruisseau de la Rodde stream and then, to the left of the cemetery, take the Chemin des Moines. Further on, at a bend in the path to the right, ignore a grassy path on the left and you will soon come to an intersection with another path.

No markings (inverted yellow markings are not very useful)

(2) Leave the^GRP®® and follow the path to the left. At a fork, follow the grassy path, which turns into a stream after heavy rain. The climb up to Puy de la Rodde is quite steep. At the top, you will come to an intersection with a path (at a small yellow^PR®® sign pointing in the opposite direction).

(3) Turn left, then left again at the next intersection, a hundred metres further on. After walking around the edge of the summit of Puy de la Rodde, you will come to a crossroads with a path. Turn left and, a hundred metres further on, you will come to another intersection with a path leading off to the right, at the entrance to the hamlet of Gourdon.

(4) This is the start of a round trip to Puy de Gourdon. Turn right, pass the farm buildings, then turn onto the first path on the left. Follow this wide path, ignoring two paths on the left (not shown on the map). After a right-hand bend, the path runs along the foot of Puy de Gourdon on your left, recognisable by its small basalt organ pipe rock formation. You will come to an intersection with a path branching off to the left. A sign, visible in the opposite direction, indicates "Puy de Gourdon, 30 min round trip" (this time is underestimated).

Yellow markings

(5) Take the path on the left, which climbs gradually and arrives at a meadow on the west side of Puy de Gourdon. Continue to follow the yellow markings and take the narrow path that branches off to the left. At a fork, either path can be taken: we followed the less steep one on the left. Both paths eventually disappear further on into the summer pasture. Then turn left and climb straight up the slope to the summit of Puy de Gourdon.

(6) 360° panorama. Descend via the same route you took on the way up to the entrance to the hamlet of Gourdon.

No markings (yellow markings are not very useful).

(4) Turn right and cross the hamlet, ignoring a street leading down to the left. Pay attention to the last house on the left side of the street.

Oldyellow and blue markings(Compostela)

Take a path on the left just before the house and pass two abandoned cellars. Join a road and follow it to the left, around a bend, for about a hundred metres, keeping an eye out for a path that branches off sharply to the left.

(7) Follow this beautiful path down into the Ruisseau de la Rodde valley. Cross an old bridge over a tiny waterfall and continue downhill. You will arrive at a street in Montaigut.

(8) Follow it straight ahead, ignoring the side streets, until you reach a small square with a drinking fountain topped by a cross. Continue along the street for a few metres.

No markings

Take the street descending to the right, leaving the yellow and blue markings, ignore the street on the left and reach a small square. Descend to the right and arrive at Rue des Templiers.

(9) Follow this street to the left for about 60 metres, then, at the bend in the street, take a sharp right onto a path with steps. After 20 metres, follow the long staircase to the left which descends and leads to a street. Follow this street to the left to return to the main road, the D996.

Follow it to the right for a few metres and cross it carefully to follow the D71 road to Regnat until you reach the bridge over the Couze Chambon. Return to the D996 but turn right before reaching it, at the corner of the old mill, to return to the car park (S/E) passing in front of the town hall.

Moderate difficulty with two slightly steep climbs, standard hiking equipment with, possibly, one or two walking sticks.

The circular loop outside the round trip is entirely marked in yellow by Balirando in the opposite direction to the one described here. I preferred this direction because I prefer to tackle steep slopes (before (3)) going uphill rather than downhill. It's up to you.

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme here

Photo album here

Beautiful 360° view from the summit of Puy de Gourdon, over the Chaîne des Puys, the Sancy massif and the Forez in the distance.

The return journey takes you through a very pretty, unspoilt valley.

Beautiful old houses and streets in Montaigut.