Serre du Thaud – Serre des Neuf Églises, starting from Le Petit Oriol

Date of your route : Apr 27, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely route. Quite easy

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Date of your route : Jan 23, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike twice in one week (once to scout it out, once with a group of seniors). We set off from Aubépin (large car park) and followed the same route. At point 5, it may be worth making a round trip to the 9 churches viewpoint, which offers truly exceptional views of the Obiou, the Grand Ferrand and the surrounding villages, including the nine churches (landscape interpretation tables). After point 843, we found a path that starts a little lower down, is very pleasant and leads to the D34d departmental road about 300m higher than the route.
After point 6 at altitude 748, a path slightly below the road allows you to reach Les Richards and avoid this section of road.
That said, this circular route is really interesting for a winter or autumn hike with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains.

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

The balcony, between Serre du Thaud and Serre des Neuf Églises (=between stages 4 and 5), is by far the most interesting part of the walk. If I had to do it again, I would park near the Col du Thaud and just do this part as a round trip. Magnificent views over the whole of Trièves, enhanced at this time of year by the autumn colours.
We couldn't find the path that was supposed to descend between stages 5 and 6 to rejoin the road, so we took the other path further south.

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Date of your route : Aug 31, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant route with no great difficulty

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Date of your route : Jun 13, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The car park at the right-hand bend on the road to Mens is not easy to spot, just past the crash barriers, and is situated on a large earth embankment which can be very loose (after storms). You can also park on the way up to the village of Petit Oriol, on the farm track at Bessay on the right, next to a disused pond; there are only two parking spaces...
After completing the round trip to the Serre des 9 Eglises, you arrive at the junction of the four paths, IGN point 843; from there, head due south and you’ll find a signposted path (though not marked on the IGN map) that follows the ridge through the forest to reach the D34d.
And in my opinion, the easiest way is to return to the car park via the road; it’s quick, and the road is quiet.

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Date of your route : Jan 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little circular route that took us 2 hours and 40 minutes. A very pretty view of the Obiou and Senepy massifs. The walk back along the tarmac was a bit of a drag. But I wasn’t disappointed at all... Good signposting... For the viewpoint at Serre des 9 Églises, we realised you can avoid going back up and take the road on the right, but then you miss out on the walk through the forest.... But it’s doable....

We’ll do it again in the spring.

Thank you

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Date of your route : May 19, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We got lost twice, but it didn’t matter

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