Puy de Marmant and Plateau de Corent starting from Monton.

Park in the small car park next to the Monton cemetery.
Unmarked route

(S/E) Leaving the car park, take the road uphill on the left and, at the fork in the road, turn left towards Vierge, a troglodytic site. At the intersection, continue straight ahead to reach the troglodytic site. Information panel, discovery trail (see: During the hike or nearby). Continue along the road, ignore the path on the left, then climb the stairs on the right to reach the top of the hill, dominated by the statue of the Virgin Mary ( viewpoint, orientation table, cannon, information panels).

(1) At the cannon, head east, passing in front of the statue, to reach a small car park and cross it to leave the site via a grassy path (no vehicles sign). Stay on this path, continuing downhill, until you reach a street after passing a barrier. Turn left, leaving an old convent converted into a lodge on your right, then at the fork in the road, follow Chemin du Guichet to the right.

You will come to a street; follow it to the left, keep to the right at the next fork, note the snail-shaped insect hotel, and turn right onto the next street, Chemin de Marmant. On the left, you will find Chemin de la Sylve (there is an information sign about Puy de Marmant a little further ahead).

(2) Follow Chemin de la Sylve to begin the climb up Puy de Marmant. Soon leave the path and follow a trail straight ahead (behind a balustrade with a wooden passage) towards the summit, ignoring any side paths. At the summit, pass a cross on your left and continue straight ahead to begin the descent.

When you reach a wooden balustrade, continue down the steps on the left. At another balustrade, take the steps on the left again. At the bottom of the steps, turn right, then go down more steps on the left and, at the bottom, turn right. At a fork in the path, keep left. You will come to a path; follow it to the left and you will soon be back on tarmac. At the junction, turn left and you will come to a busy road (D978).

(3) Follow it to the right for a few metres and cross carefully to take Allée des Mognolias opposite. Turn right at the intersection and continue straight ahead to cross the village of Veyre (note the insect hotel on the right), ignoring all the streets on the right.

Cross the two branches of the Veyre and turn left onto the street just after the second bridge. Take the first street on the right, Rue des Terrasses, then the first street on the left and continue straight ahead on Rue des Caves. At the end of the tarmac, continue on the gravel path, ignoring a path on the left, then another on the right, until you reach a road.

(4) Follow it to the right and, at the fork in the road, continue on the D753 towards Soulasse. Continue straight ahead on this road until you reach the old village of Soulasse (wash house on the right-hand side of the road turning off to the right). Then continue straight ahead on Rue Bel Horizon to cross the village, passing a fountain on your right.

(5) Pass to the right of a cross and continue for another 50 metres before turning left onto Rue du Tonnelet, which climbs up to join another street (church on the right). Turn left, then right onto Chemin du Puy and, at the T-junction, follow the path on the left.
At the intersection with four other paths, continue straight ahead, slightly to the right (or take the second path on the right). You will arrive at a wide path, facing the archaeological site of the Plateau de Corent.

(6) After visiting the site, head back along the dirt track, heading south-west (with the Puy-de-Dôme and the Veyre valley on your right).

(7) At a fork in the road, take the left path on a ravined trail (view of the Allier below). Further down, you will arrive at a crossroads near an old small quarry. Follow the path that goes straight ahead, slightly to the left. Ignore the vague side paths and continue downhill to reach a T-junction with another path. Follow it to the left, veer right in front of a post with a small^PR®® sign, then turn right again a few metres further on.

(8) About a hundred metres further on, at the intersection of four paths, turn right (red markings on a post). At the next four-way intersection, continue straight ahead. You will come to a path.

(9) Walk a few metres to the right, then turn left. Further on, you will reach a tarmac road. Continue straight ahead on Chemin de Gagnevin. Ignore a path on the left marked^GR®® Red and White and you will reach the D978.

(10) Cross it carefully and follow the road opposite (^GR®® markings) on the right-hand pavement. At the end of the pavement, turn right along a fence to join a path and follow it to the left (this is to avoid a short section on the road). Further on, rejoin the road and follow it to the right until you reach the buildings of the former Abbey of Saint-Alyre, then turn right onto Chemin de l'Abbaye. Cross a bridge over the Veyre.

(11) Just before the second bridge, turn left onto a road, which quickly turns into a path running alongside the Veyre on your right. Further on, cross a bridge, continue on the other bank and pass a picnic table. Further on, do not take the footbridge on the left, but stay on the path that moves away from the river to join the D8.

(12) Cross and follow the path opposite. Go up, ignoring all the side paths, until you reach a street in Monton. Immediately turn right onto a path that soon becomes tarmac. Ignore two streets on the right and you will come to a "Give Way" sign.

(13) Cross the street and turn right, then shortly afterwards turn left onto Chemin des Jardins. At the intersection, turn right, then at the next intersection, turn left (^GR®® markings). At the crossroads, take the first right, which passes below a small car park with a green balustrade, and walk past a wash house.

Continue along this street, which climbs up to join the street above, and continue to the right. At the fork just after, keep right onto Chemin du Lavoir (^GR®® markings). Pass in front of the wash house in question, arrive just after on Montée du Bailly, and follow it to the left. Turn onto the first street on the right, Rue de la Victoire, and follow it around a left-hand bend, ignoring the side streets.
At the intersection, just after a mission cross, turn right onto Rue des Faubourgs (house with a turret at the crossroads, church a few metres to the left), towards the cemetery (Monton). Stay on this street, ignoring all side streets, until you reach the cemetery (S/E).

Moderate difficulty hike, with some fairly steep descents and ascents. Standard hiking equipment required.

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Photo album here
Troglodytic site, open from¹ April to 15 November.
Viewpoint and orientation table at the Notre-Dame de Monton site.
Puy de Marmant nature reserve.
La Veyre, a pretty river that has benefited from a re-meandering programme.
Corent archaeological site, with numerous information panels.
Old winegrowers' houses in the villages of Monton and Soulasse.
Numerous viewpoints, both from the peaks and along the paths.