North Tour of the Sancy Massif

Ascent of the Sancy via the Val de Courre, then descent into the Chaudefour Valley for a return to the resort via the eastern ridges.

Details

13707640
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.76 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,166 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,161 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,878 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,233 m

Description of the walk

Departure from the Mont-Dore ski resort car park.

(S/E) Head west and walk up the valley alongside the Val de Courre ski lift.

(1) Pass the Val de Courre gate and continue along the path at the bottom of the valley, then climb more steeply to reach the Col de Courre.

(2) Turn left towards Sancy. Be careful, as the start of the ridge is difficult. Continue to Pas Redon.

(3) Continue straight ahead and follow the ridge.

(4) At Pas de l'Âne, the difficult section ends. Continue towards the summit of Puy de Sancy.

(5) Descend on the other side. Be careful, the start of the passage is tricky, and reach the Col de la Cabane.

(6) Continue along the ridge.

(7) At the junction of the Mont-Dore and Super-Besse resorts, follow the track on the right towards Super-Besse. At the next crossroads, continue left and reach Puy de la Perdrix.

(8) Continue straight on towards the Chaudefour valley.

(9) At the three-way junction, keep left and follow the path to Puy de Champgourdeix.

(10) Turn left and descend into the valley. At the bottom of the slope, turn right, leave the woods, cross the Ruisseau de la Biche stream and reach the end of a track.

(11) Take the path opposite and climb up through the forest to reach a plateau. You will come to a fork at an elevation of 1,429 metres.

(12) Continue straight ahead and follow the ridge to Puy des Crebasses.

(13) Continue towards Sancy and reach Puy de Cacadogne below.

(14) Go around it on the right and continue towards Sancy, following the ridge.

(15) In the hollow of the ridge, turn right and join the track below after passing to the right of the Téléseige de la Dore arrival point.

(16) Start the descent and follow the track to the Mont-Dore ski resort car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,314 m - Mont-Dore resort car park
  2. 1 : km 0.97 - alt. 1,396 m - Val de Courre lock
  3. 2 : km 2.39 - alt. 1,707 m - Col de Courre (1781m)
  4. 3 : km 2.66 - alt. 1,748 m - Puy Redon
  5. 4 : km 2.97 - alt. 1,812 m - Pas de l'Âne
  6. 5 : km 3.35 - alt. 1,878 m - Puy de Sancy
  7. 6 : km 3.67 - alt. 1,782 m - Col de la Cabanne
  8. 7 : km 4.16 - alt. 1,829 m - Puy Ferrand
  9. 8 : km 4.67 - alt. 1,803 m - Puy de la Perdrix
  10. 9 : km 5.55 - alt. 1,663 m - Three-way junction
  11. 10 : km 6.48 - alt. 1,564 m - Puy de Champgourdeix
  12. 11 : km 8.6 - alt. 1,233 m - Chaudefour Valley
  13. 12 : km 10.63 - alt. 1,440 m - Fork at elevation 1429
  14. 13 : km 12.3 - alt. 1,750 m - Puy des Crebasses
  15. 14 : km 12.79 - alt. 1,757 m - Puy de Cacadogne
  16. 15 : km 13.44 - alt. 1,707 m - Fork in the ridge
  17. 16 : km 13.72 - alt. 1,637 m - Mont-Dore resort
  18. S/E : km 15.76 - alt. 1,315 m - Mont-Dore resort car park

Notes

There are no water points along the route.

The resort car park now charges a fee, but free spaces are available further down the road from Mont-Dore.

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

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 7 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.9 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
KaôRiz
KaôRiz

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 05, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A wonderful hike, with beautiful scenery and lovely encounters (including some chamois), and quite a workout too.

The route is fairly reliable, except in one or two places where the GPS plays up a bit, but nothing serious – you just need to follow the existing paths.

Highly recommended!

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mariedo8655
mariedo8655

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Superb hike, magnificent landscapes, marmots, chamois... not to be missed. The only downside is the very last part, the descent to the station via the track, which is unpleasant and slippery, but it's difficult to find another way down unless you want to make the hike longer... thank you.

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Denis CAP
Denis CAP

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The hike is great. It's long but beautiful. You get to see different landscapes and atmospheres, which is great. My Suunto watch said 18.5 km, but it's always optimistic, and 1,230 m of elevation gain, even though it's often below the stated figures. In my opinion, it's closer to 17.5 km and 1,400 m of elevation gain.
But it's worth it!
The route isn't complicated, a bit rocky at the start, with a few roots in the middle... but you need a little challenge 😅
We had a picnic, took our time and finished in 8 hours and 20 minutes.

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mranvick
mranvick

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

The description is excellent and helps you find your way around. The path is a bit crowded at Puy de Sancy itself (which is normal with the cable car), but otherwise it's very pleasant and allows you to explore these areas over the course of a day: starting from Mont-Dore and climbing up the valley first, then taking a slightly technical ridge path to Sancy (fun with big rocks), and descending first on a bare ridge path before entering a stony, root-covered undergrowth that leads to the bottom of the Chaudefour valley. The ascent is then through undergrowth without rocks to the foothills of Sancy before descending back to Mont-Dore.

Overall, a really nice hike with magnificent scenery and a good variety of terrain.

Be warned, however, that it is quite physically demanding (allow 7 hours), and the end of the route on the ski slopes is not great (probably better in winter, in summer it is a scree slope). Oh, and it's worth noting that my phone's GPS was completely off throughout the entire trip (sometimes locating me dozens of kilometres away, perhaps due to LOF antennas). This was the first time this had happened to me, but it's not systematic, and other hikers had a functional GPS in the same place (however, the problem must affect a number of people, given Aude88's comment below...).

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Aude88
Aude88

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Be aware that there are many areas without mobile coverage on this route. At the end of the hike, our GPS showed 18 km and 14,450 m of elevation gain. This hike is therefore more difficult than advertised. My friend and I are well trained, and we would even describe this hike as very difficult rather than just difficult.
That said, this route offers magnificent views, both from the ridges and from the valley. The trails and views are varied and very pleasant. Be aware that Puy de Sancy can be crowded, so you may need to be patient.
The return trip via the ski slope, on the other hand, is a mental ordeal.

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Aude88
Aude88

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Be aware that there are many areas without mobile coverage on this route. At the end of the hike, our GPS showed 18 km and 14,450 m of elevation gain. This hike is therefore more difficult than advertised. My friend and I are well trained, and we would even describe this hike as very difficult rather than just difficult.
That said, this route offers magnificent views, whether from the ridges or from the valley. The trails and views are varied and very pleasant. Be aware that Puy de Sancy can get busy, so you may need to be patient.

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Ricco39
Ricco39

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

- As indicated, this is a demanding hike, especially in hot weather.
- The return via the ski slope requires vigilance, especially at the end of the route when you are tired
- Beautiful route offering stunning views

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