The Way of St James. Stage 1. Puy-en-Velay / St Privat d'Allier

Twenty to thirty thousand walkers set out from Puy-en-Velay every year to do the pilgrimage along the Way of St. James. Discover the Way of St. James by doing the first stage by foot. You can return to Puy-en-Velay in the evening in a special coach.

Technical sheet

5576
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 23.43 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 8h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: No
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 610 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 401 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,206 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 632 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Set out from the cathedral steps and walk down Rue des Tables. There are direction markers on the ground. Just after Choriste fountain, take Rue Raphaëlle on your left and keep going until you reach Place du Plot with its fountain in the town centre (1). From this square, take Rue Saint-Jacques, then Rue des Capucins, and finally Rue de Compostelle. From Rue des Capucins, the tarmacked road climbs slowly uphill.

After the entrance to the Fontanille factory (2), turn left at the corner down the wide track. Keep going straight on past the Pouvignac Cross. At the next bend (3), ignore the track on the left leading down the Sentier des Chibottes footpath, and instead continue along the same stony track. Go past a farm building and stay on this track until you reach the D589 (4). Cross the road and take the stony path opposite you.

The route is marked with the red and white waymarks of the GR65. The path takes a 90° turn to the left, crosses the D589, and then continues on to La Roche. Walk through the hamlet and then on your way out, near a table picnic (5), turn left. At the next crossing (6), turn left and ignore the alternative path to the right, which also has red and white waymarks.

Keep going until you reach the village of Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison, where you can have a look around the church and discover its remarkable bell gable. Continue out of the village, turn right past some picnic tables and keep going until you come out the other side of the D906 via a small tunnel (7). Facing the cross, turn left. Successively cross the hamlets of Tallode, Liac, and Lic.

Keep going until you reach the village of Ramourouscle, taking the road to the right to reach the village. In the village centre (8), turn left and follow the road to Chapel Saint-Roch (9). Walk through Monbonnet to reach the D589 (10), which you then follow to the left for 150m, before crossing the road to take a path to between the houses on the right (11). Cross the plateau. The path splits into two (12). Take the left-hand path, which climbs up through the dark fir trees to the summit. You will reach a fork. Bear left to reach Lac de l’Oeuf lake, and then walk around the edge of the lake on the left.

You will come out onto a road (13). Follow the road to the left for 150m, before taking a path down to the right (signposted) (14). Keep going straight on, staying on this path through the woods. It continues onto a small open road with arable fields on either side.

Cross the D589 (15) and take the road opposite you to the village of Chier. Go straight through the village, past the town hall, and across the main square. Then continue down a grassy track, followed by a stony path, and finally cross the stream near the mill (16).

You will come out onto a tarmacked road at the entrance of the village of Saint-Privat-d'Allier (17). Continue towards the village centre until you reach a bus stop opposite the Vieille Auberge (after Le Kompost'l on the other side of the road).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 662 m - Puy-en-Velay - Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation
  2. 1 : km 0.35 - alt. 632 m - Place du Plot. Fountain
  3. 2 : km 1.76 - alt. 766 m - Entrance to the Fontanille factory
  4. 3 : km 3.18 - alt. 789 m - Start Sentier des Chibottes
  5. 4 : km 4.58 - alt. 856 m - Junction with the D589
  6. 5 : km 6.23 - alt. 875 m - Exit to the hamlet of La Roche.picnic table
  7. 6 : km 7.01 - alt. 882 m - Intersection GR65 variant
  8. 7 : km 9.22 - alt. 902 m - Small tunnel under the D906
  9. 8 : km 14.22 - alt. 1,037 m - Intersection at the centre of Ramourouscle. turn left
  10. 9 : km 15.67 - alt. 1,077 m - Saint-Roch chapel
  11. 10 : km 16.54 - alt. 1,109 m - Intersection with the D589
  12. 11 : km 16.7 - alt. 1,118 m - Start of the path leading up between the houses
  13. 12 : km 18.41 - alt. 1,186 m - Fork. Turn left
  14. 13 : km 19.18 - alt. 1,205 m - Intersection with minor road
  15. 14 : km 19.33 - alt. 1,201 m - GR65 junction.
  16. 15 : km 21.08 - alt. 1,059 m - Intersection with the D589
  17. 16 : km 22.9 - alt. 868 m - Crossing the stream. Mill
  18. 17 : km 23.21 - alt. 882 m - Junction D589. Entrance to St Privat sur Allier
  19. E : km 23.43 - alt. 871 m - Bus stop in front of the Vieille Auberge

Practical information

To get back to the departure point, you can take the special shuttle bus service "Compostel'Bus" (cost of return journey: €10/pers – bus stop outside the Vieille Auberge). For more information and to book your ticket online (5% discount), visit the website: http://www.bus-chemin-compostelle.com or http://www.ot-lepuyenvelay.fr/capitale-e.... It’s very quick and easy.

The route is very well marked and maintained, so you should have no problems finding your way.

The route out of Puy is quite steep for 4.6 km (230 m vertical gain) but the rest is very easy. The following 13.8 kms are uphill, but you don’t notice it (270 m vertical gain) as the gradient is so low. Then comes the climb up to Lac de l’Oeuf, the final difficult part of the route, which involves 100 m vertical gain over 1.3 km. The rest of the route is a steep downhill as far as Saint-Privat (350 m vertical drop over 4.7 km).

You will need appropriate footwear and sufficient water. There are cafes along the way in Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison, Montbonnet, and Saint-Privat.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 21 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.9 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
olibel
olibel

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Top

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pammachius
pammachius

it's up to you ...

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virgule
virgule

So, if you don't want to do everything, it would be better to choose the 4th or 5th stage to avoid the crowds.

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pammachius
pammachius

According to what I was told in July and August, it's quite hot on the route and it's families who take it, in October it's walkers (of all nationalities and all psychological and physical states, many won't make it past the third stage).

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virgule
virgule

Hello,

if it's very busy on a Thursday in October outside the school holidays, it must be even busier in fine summer weather.
Do you meet people walking to Compostela or tourists?

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pammachius
pammachius

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

The circuit was very busy and a little difficult on the first few climbs for someone lacking experience.

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Isa69
Isa69

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 23, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Estimated time and gradient. The route is signposted Compostelle / GR 65

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virgule
virgule
• Last modified:

Twenty to thirty thousand walkers set off every year from Le Puy-en-Velay to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Since this topic was created, the number has increased significantly. We're now up to 40,000.

https://www.leveil.fr/puy-en-velay-43000...

They're starting to complain about overcrowding. For those who like to take it easy, I recommend the Via Campaniensis route: Rocroi - Reims - Vézelay. It's visited by around 5 pilgrims a day in fine weather. But less Instagrammable than Le Puy en Velay.

https://www.randonneurs-pelerins.com/joo...

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CLA58
CLA58

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : May 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

I've been posting my hikes on the via Podiensis every day since 17 May and I find that the gradients shown in my tracks do not correspond to those indicated by Visorando at the start.

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PASCAL AUV
PASCAL AUV

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

Hello, it's a shame that you can't find all the stages of the Camino de Santiago and that there are only the first 2.

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EricJan78
EricJan78
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : May 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

On 15 May, it can be cold (4°C)
The following stages of the Camino de Compostela remain to be described

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Mercedes43
Mercedes43

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : N/A
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The walk is very well signposted, and I'm glad I did this stage because there were no worries!
The Rochegude gite is very, very good.

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lacuche
lacuche

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 25, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very pleasant stage in the sunshine. The well-marked route is very easy apart from one stony section.
We chose to extend the route as far as Rochegude to visit its chapel before returning to Saint-Privat-d'Allier.
A magnificent walk.

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xibalba29
xibalba29

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 16, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very interesting walk in a magnificent setting.
Well signposted.
Rather difficult last kilometre on gravel.
Course with significant positive gradient up to the 20th km.

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sabinou63
sabinou63

Hello,
The Camino de Santiago from Le Puy to Conques is very well signposted.
There are many "Gr65 st jacques de Compostelle" signs along the way, otherwise follow the red and white Gr signs.
There are many gîtes and campsites along the way, so you can shorten or lengthen your stages.
It's also very easy to set off on your own, as you'll meet pilgrims on their own too. In fact, I've found it to be a very rewarding experience, with people helping each other, showing kindness and warmth.
It's hard to leave the route after several stages, and it's a real heartbreak when you have to give it up...
For the Compostel'bus, in low season you can take it on the flight, otherwise it's best to book online (same-day booking possible as long as the bus hasn't left Conques and if there are still places available).

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