In the footsteps of the Carthusian monks

Guidebook with maps/step-by-step

Step 1 : With your back to the start sign, turn right into rue des Bruyères. Turn right in front of the transformer, then take the left-hand path, cross the road and continue straight ahead. At the crossroads, fork left ; the path passes under a high-voltage power line and descends through the woods to the Mazière mill. Cross the stream and climb up to the D 418 road.

Step 2 : Cross the road and take the path opposite. At the summit (viewpoint over the Sancy), go straight on to a crow’s-foot. Turn right to join the road and follow it for 150 m. At the crossroads, leave the road and take the path on the right. At the next crossroads, turn left, pass under the high-voltage power line and continue as far as the village of Triolet. Take the right-hand track and follow it to the edge of the wood. Bend left to take a track that descends gently for 1.8 km to a crossroads (off-course, 100 m to the right, ruins of the Chartreuse de Port-Sainte-Marie).

Step 3 : Turn left at the road (don’t take it) and continue on the track immediately to your left, which winds its way up the Sioule for about 3 km to a crossroads (signposts).

Step 4 : Leave the right-hand track (another PR) and go straight up, parallel to the high-voltage power line. Pass under it and turn right towards the village of Les Bouchauds. Take the road on the left (viewpoint over the Chaîne des Puys) to a crossroads. Turn right, then at the next crossroads, in front of a farmhouse, turn right onto a road for 200 m, then left onto a path to the village of Rioux. Cross the village and, opposite the last house, turn left onto a path between hedges. Go downhill until you reach the road, then continue straight ahead. At a track junction, keep right and join a tarmac path in a wide bend.