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On the D979, at Pérols-sur-Vézère, turn onto the access road to the village and park immediately in the car park at the side of the road, opposite the cemetery.
Please note! This walk is not signposted as such.
(S/E) Cross the D979 (caution! busy road, no specific speed limit) and take the small road opposite. Immediately pass to the left of a beautiful openwork cross (15th century).
(1) At the first houses in La Bussière, follow the path on the right and the orange squirrel markings until you see a sign indicating otherwise (on a wooden post or stenciled on trees). At the intersection with a road, follow the grassy path opposite.
(2) At the intersection by a small menhir, keep left. Further on, ignore a path on the left. You will come to a wide stony path.
(3) Turn right, following the green markings, and further on you will find the squirrel markings again. Ignore a path on the right. At a crossroads, go straight ahead, leaving the green markings but still following the squirrel markings. The path crosses a beautiful moor. At the T-junction, turn right and you will come to a small road. The squirrel markings are no longer visible.
(4) Follow the small road to the left until you reach Pont Tort.
(5) Cross the Riovert on the Pont Tort and continue along this very quiet small road (not a single vehicle encountered). Further on, the road is lined with a beautiful beech hedge (a special feature of the old roads in the region, the "routes des hêtres"(1)).
(6) About 1 km after Pont Tord, leave the road as it begins to curve to the right and continue straight ahead on a path that offers beautiful views to the north-west. Turn right onto the first grassy path you come to, which will take you to the hamlet of Les Maisons.
When you reach a road, walk a few metres to the right, then immediately take a street on the left and note a cross embedded in a low stone wall. Also note the red and whiteGR®® markings (which you will follow, except for the return trip, until you reach your destination).
(7) Ignore all the streets on the right to reach a four-way crossroads. Go straight ahead towards Les Rioux.
(8) The road crosses a stream and arrives at the hamlet of Les Rioux.
(9) Follow theGR®®440variant to Pérols on the left. You will immediately notice some beautiful old thatched cottages before entering a beech forest. Then cross a moor and ford the Ruisseau des Cars stream. You will arrive at an intersection with a wooden sign pointing to the right towards the Gallo-Roman site of Les Cars (2).
(10) Leave theGR®® temporarily for a return trip, turning right. You will soon arrive at a car park. Cross it, turning right. You will immediately find the funerary complex (information panels). Then follow the interpretive trail down to the old villa (remarkable remains of water domestication infrastructure).
(11) Retrace your steps to return to the GR®®.
(10) Continue to the right, initially skirting a bog. After passing through beech woods and heathland, you will arrive at the hamlet of Ars, near a farm building. Turn right, then immediately left. Join the road and follow it to the left to reach the centre of the hamlet.
(12) At the first intersection, near a beautiful carved cross and an oven set back a little, turn right in front of the cross, temporarily leaving theGR®® trail, for a round trip to the Fontaine de l'Étanchou. At the end of the street, continue along the grassy path. At a fork, keep right on the path lined with low walls. You will arrive at the fountain, a semi-natural drinking trough collecting water from small springs, in the middle of a wood.
(13) Return to the cross in the centre of the hamlet.
(12) Continue on theGR®® to the right (note the group of cottages on the left just after this point). Turn onto the first path on the right, then ignore the Écureuil signpost on the left and continue straight ahead. Continue along this wide path to reach the hamlet of Variégas (3).
(14) The first houses you come to set the tone: Variégas is a hamlet consisting almost entirely of cottages, most of which are modern but built in the typical regional style. Continue along the road through the village (note the totems on the right). When you reach an oratory above a well, follow the direction indicated by a wooden sign saying "Pont à 300m" (bridge 300 metres away).
(15) Cross the Rivière d'Ars on the Pont de Variégas bridge and continue along the path. Further on, ignore a path on the left and continue straight ahead on the small road that extends the path. Pass to the left of a private pond, then arrive at the hamlet of La Bussière.
(1) Keep right to return to the outward route and reach the car park (S/E) on the other side of the D979.
Visorando member
Easy 
