The arboretum of l'Hort de Dieu from the Aigoual summit

Start: Mont Aigoual summit car park.

GR^® Red and White and Yellow waymarkers

(S/E) Head towards the observatory, then to the left of the building. Go right to make a detour to the orientation table at the top of the tower, then back onto the small road, continue to the right to reach the Aigoual Sommet waymarker. Continue in the same direction along the path, towards Menhir de Trépaloup. Reach the menhir site and the Menhir de Trépaloup signpost.

Yellow waymarkers

(1) Keep left then right, for about 30 m, to find another Menhir de Trépaloup beacon (1499 m).

(2) Then, at the junction, take the path down to the left (South).

(3) At the junction with Apollon signpost, turn right towards L'Hort de Dieu. Reach a junction at Le Grel signpost, and go straight on towards L'Hort de Dieu. Reach Muchos signpost, start of the arboretum loop.

(4) Go left (South), toward Aire de l'Aigle. Reach the waymarker then take a detour to the viewpoint.

(5) Walk back to the Aire de l'Aigle signpost. Then follow the path towards l'Hort de Dieu. Arrive at the alpine garden and visit it (remember to close the door on your way out). Just after, cross a footbridge and reach the l'Hort de Dieu Labo waymarker, at the botanists' laboratory.

(6) Continue straight on, towards Stèle des Botanistes. The path makes a wide loop, crossing a beautiful stream twice (footbridges) and arriving at the Stèle des Botanistes. At the signpost of the same name, follow the signs for l'Hort de Dieu Nord and you'll end up at the back of the laboratory.

(7) Follow the left-hand path marked "passage délicat" (difficult passage, see Practical Information), which climbs in two wide switchbacks to reach the Hort de Dieu Nord signpost. Continue towards Les Muchos and reach this waymarker, which marks the intersection of the arborétum loop.

(4) Climb back up, taking the opposite route from the outward journey, here heading for le Grel, then Apollon, then Menhir de Trépaloup, and then back to the road and the Menhir de Trépaloup marker (1499m).

(2) Continue along the path opposite, towards Mont Aigoual. Arrive at the climatographe terrace, continue straight on with the observatory on your right and find the car park (S/E).

Start: Mont Aigoual summit car park.

Waymarkers: GR^® Red and White and Yellow waymarkers then yellow waymarkers

Note: Moderate walk due to the elevation gain. Standard hiking equipment.

(7) Path marked "delicate passage": Honestly, there's nothing difficult about these two passages, which may be a little aerial for those suffering from vertigo, but they're wide enough and, it is fitted with a handrail. It would be a shame not to do this section overlooking the arboretum, which offers some very fine views. However, if you're reluctant, you can make your way down to the laboratory (7) and then return to the start of the loop (4) by taking the opposite route to the outward journey.

Photo album here

A major reforestation program was carried out on the Aigoual massif at the end of the 19th century, under the leadership of forester Georges Fabre.
Beech, elder, pine, fir, yew, birch, hornbeam, maple, plum, ash, spruce, larch, alder, cedar, spruce, redwood, snowberry, dogwood, rhododendron, chestnut, rowan, walnut, cherry ... you'll find all these species represented by trees that are now a hundred years old. You'll even come across a 200-year-old beech called Chourradou (in Occitan, the name of the sheep that came to "chourrer", i.e. ruminate and rest under its shady canopy when trees were still rare on the slopes of the Aigoual).

More information on the arboretum here and especially here for answers to the various signs encountered along the way.