Tour of the Chaudefour valley, via the ridges

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Easy walk around the Chaudefour valley.

Details

n°84235
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 14.99 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 805 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 805 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,833 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,139 m
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Photos

Crête du coq, cornes du diable and dent de la Rancune at the bottom of the Chaudefour valley
View from the summit of Puy de Sancy
Puy du Sancy in view
A little higher up

Description of the walk

The route starts from the car park at the "Maison de la Réserve Naturelle" (Nature Reserve Centre).

(S/E) Head towards the bottom of the valley via the Discovery Trail.

(1) Cross the Sainte-Anne bridge and you will come to an intersection.

(2) Turn left and cross the stream again via a footbridge. After entering the forest, take the leftmost path and climb to Puy de Champgourdeix (1,570 m) once you reach the ridge.

(3) Then climb up the Plaine des Moutons, passing between Puy de la Perdrix and Puy Ferrand, to reach a wide path at a ski lift.

(4) Continue straight ahead to descend to the Col de la Cabane.

(5) From there, turn right onto the wide path.

(6) Just after the Ferrand Nord ski lift, at the fork, turn right to go around Pan de la Grange, taking theGR®®4(white and red markings). Stay on theGR®®4to pass Pic Intermédiaire and then Puy de Cacadogne. Reach Puy des Crebasses.

(7) Turn right and descend along the ridge to a fork (elevation 1429).

(8) Turn right to return to the bottom of the valley in the forest, towards Dent de la Rancune.

(2) Leave the path you took on the way up on your right and continue straight ahead to return to the car park via the same route you took on the way there (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,139 m - Reserve Centre
  2. 1 : km 1.27 - alt. 1,194 m - Pont Sainte-Anne - Couze Chambon (rivière) - Affluent de l'Allier
  3. 2 : km 1.77 - alt. 1,233 m - Intersection, on the left
  4. 3 : km 4.13 - alt. 1,561 m - Puy de Champgourdeix
  5. 4 : km 6.6 - alt. 1,829 m - Track
  6. 5 : km 7.07 - alt. 1,781 m - Col de la Cabanne
  7. 6 : km 7.47 - alt. 1,722 m - Fork, on the right
  8. 7 : km 9.21 - alt. 1,746 m - Puy des Crebasses
  9. 8 : km 11.04 - alt. 1,436 m
  10. S/E : km 14.99 - alt. 1,139 m - Reserve Centre

Notes

Message from RNN Chastreix-Sancy:
"This route crosses the Chastreix-Sancy and/or Chaudefour Valley nature reserves. Dogs are not allowed, even on a leash, except on theGR®® 30 marked trails.
Mountain biking, picking and camping are prohibited. Please stay on the marked paths."

This route passes through multiple protected areas, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

Ferruginous water source at the foot of the Sainte-Anne bridge.
At the Col de la Cabane, you can climb up to the Puy de Sancy (+1 hour) by turning left.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

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

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Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 130 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
bibi
bibi ★

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 16, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb hike that I completed with Puy Gros and Puy de Sancy, since I was already up in the hills...

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User 27605403

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Clear directions from the outset and sufficient to stay on course.
We had difficulties on the ridges due to very bad weather and a total lack of visibility for an hour, but we were able to find the route again as soon as the weather cleared.

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User 7680534

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very beautiful route with magnificent views and landscapes.

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faistos
faistos
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Magnificent panorama, the 14.8 km and 800 m of elevation gain are not noticeable, with very few steep climbs and descents. I did this hike on the only relatively cool day during a fortnight of heatwave. There were more people as I approached the Sancy. The path is cut off and diverted in a few places but easy to follow with a GPS app. I still missed one peak. However, as with all popular places, you can sense that the rules are becoming stricter...
a very beautiful hike.

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User 18853770

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very nice walk. Be careful at the end on the descent.

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User 23694270

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 26, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The descent is difficult and technical, and can be dangerous in wet weather.

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maryvonnefaure
maryvonnefaure

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very good

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bbdubai
bbdubai

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 28, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with two difficulties, one orienteering and one crossing. At the start, it's not easy to find the start to the ridges and at the end of the route, where the descent requires some acrobatics.

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JPEG44
JPEG44

Hello
Is it possible to do this walk in the snow?
Thanks

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jacques15
jacques15

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A wonderful walk to do on a fine day

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Aurelie Ch
Aurelie Ch

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very nice hike on a site that is generally very busy. In fine weather, plan to set off very early in the morning to avoid the crowds and avoid the ridges in the heat.
The markings on the last section are old, and a few technical sections on this section made us doubt whether we were on the right path, but the GPS track was the right one.
NB The car park at the start is not free from 1 May to 30 September.

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sepchat Joël
sepchat Joël

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Magnificent walk. Personally, I set off from the Les 500 Diables restaurant. This allows you to follow all the green PR signs.

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arsènep
arsènep

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent hike we did with our 6-year-old daughter (who is used to walking!).
We did it in 7.5 hours because we took lots of breaks and made a small diversions to follow a herd of sheep after the puy de Cacadogne.

Watch out for the fork in the first wood, which is not at all signposted, so that you go up to the left instead of continuing towards the cascade de la biche.

No major difficulty apart from the length, it climbs quite hard at the start, it's a bit dizzy at the crest of Cacadogne but without risk, bring good shoes, it slips quite a bit on the descent into the woods at the end.

A lot of people around the Puy de Sancy because of the cable car, otherwise busy but reasonable.

Superb memories of the hike, with breathtaking views over the Chaudefour valley and all the surrounding ridges.

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milleparcours
milleparcours

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : Yes

The route begins with a very long climb through woodland and scree. Finally, on the ridge, the view over the valley is magnificent, but you soon find yourself on a dusty boulevard before starting the descent, which on the part signposted in orange to reach the car park is very chaotic on a mountainside between woods and streams in the dark.

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Serge_Augusta
Serge_Augusta

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A superb hike that deserves to be repeated. Superb views and very rich vegetation at this time of year.
A very physical hike for experienced hikers, with some very tricky sections, particularly in the last 4 km.
In my opinion, it should be classed as "moderately difficult".
Very busy on the 1st half of the route, then hardly anyone on the 2nd half.
The signposting needs to be reviewed as some of it is non-existent or poorly placed. The GPS track is a great help.

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The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.