On the Cheires Hautes

In Fontfreyde, park in a small car park on the edge of Rue du Relais, near a large gravel square and a playground.

(S/E) Continue along Rue du Relais, heading south-west. At the crossroads, continue straight ahead, ignoring a street on your right and Impasse des Carrières on your left. Shortly afterwards, in the bend, take a path on the right that is not very visible from the street, which runs alongside a property (with earthenware figurines on the gate and a small rounded garage) and gardens on your right. You will come to a small road; follow it to the right. Further on, ignore a path that enters the forest on the right (not marked on the map), then ignore another path on the right (marked with a green cross) that runs alongside a large meadow.

(1) About 100 metres further on, leave the small road and turn right onto a path that runs alongside a meadow on your right. The path quickly turns left and joins another path marked^GR®®30(in red and white). Turn right.

(2) About 500 metres further on, near a meadow on your left, ignore a path on the right (not marked on the map) and continue straight ahead. You will come to a crossroads with a path and a small road. Look for yellow directional signs and GR®® markings^.

(3) Leave the^GR®® and continue along the path on the left (towards Pessade) through the woods, heading generally south. About 400 metres further on, ignore a path on the right and then, just after, turn left onto a path marked in yellow and green mountain bike signs. Further on, the path resumes its southward direction. Further on, ignore a path on the right. As the path approaches a busy road (D2089), ignore two paths on the left in quick succession (the first is not shown on the map), then, shortly after, ignore another path on the right (not marked on the map).

(4) A few metres before reaching the D2089, turn right onto the path heading north. Climb gradually up the slopes of the Puy de Vichatel until you reach the crater. Then take a beautiful winding path on the left to climb to the summit of Puy de Vichatel. You will arrive at a summer pasture and turn right. You will have a beautiful unobstructed view to the south. Continue along the edge of the pasture to find a path that descends and leads to the crater.

(5) Turn left onto the path to descend to the foot of the puy. Further on, ignore a path on the left (not marked on the map), then turn right twice in quick succession at two wooden signs indicating the direction of Puy de Vichatel (where you came from). About a hundred metres further on, the path leaves the woods and continues along the edge of a large meadow.

(6) Further on, you will see a path on your right and an information sign for "Sur les traces de Montlosier" (In the footsteps of Montlosier). Continue straight ahead for a short round trip to the Étang de Montlosier (information sign), then return to the information sign.

(6) Take the path on your left that enters the pine forest. Shortly afterwards, you will see another information sign. Continue along this path, still in the woods. When you reach a junction with an orange-painted wooden sign marked "Sur les traces de Montlosier" (In the footsteps of Montlosier), turn left. You will come to a small road where you will see another information sign about the Puys de la Vache and Lassolas.

(7) Cross the road and take the path opposite. Immediately, you will see an information sign on the right, on a small hill, about the landscaping of Montlosier. Continue along the path and, after about 100 metres on the left, on the other side of a meadow, you will see the Château de Montlosier, which houses the Maison du Parc des Volcans. You will arrive at a crossroads.

(8) Keep right, towards the Puys de la Vache and Lassolas (yellow markings). The beautiful trail runs along a large meadow on your right, then crosses a wood before coming out onto a wider path at the foot of Puy de la Vache, where you will see yellow directional signs.

(9) Turn right (towards Fontfreyde) onto this path marked in red and white by the^GR®®4, 30 and 440 trails. About 250 metres further on, you will see a staircase on your left. Take it for a short detour to an old quarry that exploited an adventitious crater of the Puy de la Vache. Back on the^GR®, continue left towards the east to reach a road, the D5, at a large car park. Cross and continue opposite, following the right-hand edge of the car park so as not to lose the red and white GR® markings^. Find a path and continue to follow the GR® markings^.

(10) About 150m further on, at an intersection marked with yellow directional signs, turn left onto the path towards Fontfreyde, leaving the red and white markings. After 400m, you will come to a path. Turn right and head east, which you will follow until you reach Fontfreyde. Further on, at the end of a field, ignore a path on the left.

(11) Further on, ignore a path on the right and then a path on the left. About 500m further on, ignore another path on the right and then, 200m after that, a path on the left (not marked on the map). At the next intersection (not marked on the map), continue straight ahead and then, shortly after, when you see farm buildings on your right, look for yellow directional signs.

(12) Continue straight ahead for a few metres until you reach a path and follow it to the right to enter the village of Fontfreyde. When you reach a street, Rue du Soleil Levant, turn left. At the intersection, at the wash house, turn right onto Rue Petits Beaune, then pass the church on your right to reach Rue du Relais. Turn right, pass a fountain on your right and follow Rue du Relais, which turns left, to reach the car park about 50 metres further on (S/E).

Hike of moderate difficulty, standard hiking equipment

Discover more walks in this area, complete with descriptions, via the Visorando app here, and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme region here

Photo albums here and here

The ‘solidified lava flows’ are rugged lava fields, with exposed blocks, formed from recent, scoria-rich lava flows. Generally basic, relatively rich in silica and formed at very high temperatures—which gives it a relatively high viscosity—this lava flow solidifies rapidly, taking on a crusty, jagged and sharp appearance, thus creating a rugged terrain. The solidified lava flows of the Cheires Hautes form part of the Cheire d’Aydat, created by the eruptions of the Puys de la Vache and Lassolas.
The lava flows from the Puys de La Vache and Lassolas combined to form a single solidified lava flow. The surface of this La Vache and Lassolas solidified lava flow, or Cheire d’Aydat, is a rocky chaos covered with trees. The solidified lava flow extends south-east and then eastwards for more than 12 km, as far as Saint-Saturnin and Saint-Amand-Tallende, at the foot of the Limagne Fault. Dating of charred wood fragments found beneath the lava suggests that this combined lava flow is approximately 7,700 years old.
The solidified lava flow of La Vache et Lassolas formed a natural dam across the course of the Veyre, a small river originating in the Monts Dore, leading to the formation of a volcanic dam lake, Lake Aydat. The water from the lake flows eastwards before seeping into the lava and disappearing (the ‘perte de la Veyre’); it resurfaces in several springs, including the Pragnac spring north of Saint-Saturnin and the Tallende spring. Shortly after Saint-Amand-Tallende, the Veyre is joined by the Monne, which flows through gorges carved into the plateau upstream.

The Puy de Vichatel. Its summit lies at an altitude of 1,094 metres and its crater is approximately 86 metres deep. Together with that of the Puy Pariou, it is one of the most remarkable craters in the range in terms of its shape, size and depth. It is a Strombolian-type cone, formed in two stages: first, an explosion led to the formation of a crater (maar), which filled with water; then a cone of cinder covered the maar.

The landscaping work carried out by the Count of Montlosier, who returned to settle in Auvergne in 1815, involved a rudimentary development of his estate at Montlosier, in Randanne, at the heart of the Chaîne des Puys. The layout of his estate was spartan, to say the least. The present-day château, now the administrative headquarters of the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park, was not built until 1835. Throughout those years, he spent the winter in Clermont, as this season is particularly inhospitable in the mountains.
But he then embarked on ambitious agricultural projects: bringing in topsoil using hundreds of ox-drawn carts to cover the ‘cheyres’ or areas covered in pozzolan, developing sheep farming, cultivating rye, and reforesting the cheyres with Norway spruce, which he introduced to the region after recognising its value whilst living in Germany. He advocated the implementation of an agronomic approach that was innovative for the time, combining the forestry development of heathland with controlled pastoral activity.