The Sancy Est – Besse loop (from Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise / 58.5 km) 2024

Étape 1

Start from Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise (Besse-en-Chandesse), Place de la Poterne near the tourist office. From the “Boucle du Sancy” sign, take the stairs under the porch of the Médiathèque. At the exit, turn left across Place de la Gayme towards the Belfry. Pass under the porch, turn left and climb up to the traffic circle. Go straight ahead, between the sports hall and the war memorial. Continue straight ahead until you reach the road. Turn right for 200 m, then fork right (sculptures) onto the path (180° view) towards Lac Pavin. Continue straight on, ignoring the side paths, until you reach a road. Turn right down this road. In Pertuyzat, go as far as the “Lac Pavin” PR sign on the path behind the restaurant.

Étape 2

Opposite this sign, turn right onto the path running alongside the forest. At the intersection, go straight ahead, through a gate (view of the Sancy massif) and follow the signs for “Lac Pavin” through the meadow. Go through the first gate, then the second. At the road, go down and then left as far as Lac Pavin. With your back to the lake, turn left down the road, cross the D978, and continue on the road opposite. At the fork in the road, turn right, cross the D149 and climb towards Fontaneix until you reach the end of the straight after the sharp bend.

Étape 3

Turn left towards Super-Besse on a path bordered by two fences. Climb between pastures, then at the edge of a wood and again between pastures to a passage with 2 wooden steps. Turn right, follow the wooden stakes, climb left into a small combe to reach a small plateau adjacent to the Puy de Chambourguet scree. Climb to the left along the scree slope, pass the fence and then descend (view of Pavin and Bourdouze lakes, the Cézallier and the Cantal mountains), following it to the left until you reach a wide path. Descend. At the T-junction, turn left and continue straight ahead on the road. At the Le Lac Bleu residence, turn right onto Chemin de l’Ecir. At no. 5, turn left down a small staircase and then a footpath. At the road, turn left. At the crossroads, go right, past the Chambourguet residence, then turn right (rue de l’Escu d’or). At the stop sign, turn left into Avenue du Sancy, then right into Rue du Pavin. Cross a road to reach the lakeshore opposite. Continue along the lake on the right, past a play area (picnic tables) and an aqualudist base, and straight on to the ESF.

Étape 4

Straight ahead, left of the shuttle bus stop, then immediately right, then left again. Continue straight ahead until you reach a large intersection at the TS summer toboggan run. Turn left for 50m. Climb to the right, still following the signs for Puy de Sancy. The path initially runs parallel to the gondola’s route, then passes beneath it. Immediately to the right, take a small staircase, then a path through a wood. After the wood, continue straight ahead until you reach a wide track. Follow it to the right. Pass a TS arrival hut. Pass under the zip-line cable and, immediately afterwards, take a long, steep staircase to the left, in a wood, leading to the start of the zip-line. Continue straight ahead. Leave a TS finish on the right. Follow a wide path to the left. 15m after the first large snow barrier on the right, climb up to the right. The path gradually veers left towards a pass. Pass under the TC cables, then a TS, to reach a wide path at the height of a large snow barrier on the right (view of lakes Pavin and Bourdouze, Monts du Cantal, Cézallier, Margeride and Forez). Keep right to reach the Col du Couhay. Continue uphill, right, on a wide track to the first intersection.

Étape 5

Turn left towards Puy de Sancy. Reach the Col de la Cabane after leaving the Puy Gros on your left and overlooking the Fontaine Salée cirque. Climb to the top of Puy de Sancy (orientation tables). Descend the stairs. At the pas de l’Âne (view of the Monts du Cantal and the “orgues en gerbe”), turn left towards Le Mont-Dore, Chastreix. After the stairs, turn left down a steep path to the Col de Courre.

Étape 6

Continue straight ahead, ignoring the side paths. Climb up to the Tour Carrée and continue along the ridges to the Puy de Cliergue (view of the Capucin, the Guéry plateau and the glacial valley of Mont-Dore). Descend towards Le Capucin. At the quarry, turn right. At the buron du Capucin, take the tarmac road to the Salon du Capucin parking lot.

Étape 7

Turn right downhill to the funicular station, then left onto the Chemin des Mille Gouttes to Avenue de la Libération in Le Mont-Dore. Follow this avenue up to the Mont-Dore tourist office, cross the park alongside the tourist office and cross the Dordogne. Go straight ahead on Rue Perpère. Climb the stairs (towards les cascades/chemin de la Bane) to chemin de Melchi Rose. Turn right. Cross a road and climb the winding path to the Grande Cascade. Continue over the footbridge to reach a grassy platform (view of Mont-Dore and the Dordogne valley).

Étape 8

Cross it straight on and continue on the sloping path (against the direction of the green PR), following it on a balcony above the Mont-Dore valley. Pass a stepladder and halfway up the Roc de Cuzeau, take the path on the left to reach the summit (view over the glacial valley of Mont-Dore). Continue to puy des Crebasses.

Étape 9

Turn left (view of the Chaudefour valley) and follow the ridge path. Continue downhill (two stepladders to climb), cross a grassy area and continue on a path. At the entrance to a wood, descend to the left, cross a stepladder and follow the forest track to an inn at Chambon des Neiges.

Étape 10

Continue along the parking lot. Take the first left at the vacation village, then the first right. At the crossroads, take the left-hand path up to the D36. Turn left and follow the D636 for 1 km to a crossroads. Go right, along the edge of the wood, to the entrance to the hamlet of Les Angles. Cross the road, then the hamlet, and head downhill towards Château de Serrette. Continue to the village of Chambon sur Lac. Turn right, cross the bridge and turn left into rue des Forges. After Place de la Fontaine, take Rue Chez Chartoire. Continue to the right of the church (Romanesque church and cross) to reach the D996. Turn right for 30 m. Then turn right (campsite), go straight on, cross a bridge and continue to the Murol beach at the south-east end of Lac Chambon.

Étape 11

Continue straight ahead on the track past the inn. At the crossroads, go straight ahead, then turn right onto Chemin des Sables. Go up to the first track on the left, then down to the road. Turn right towards Jassat and, at the bend in the road, take the track on the left, facing the campsite entrance. After the bridge, turn right. In the hamlet, at the crossroads (watering place), take the small road to the right, then turn left before the bridge. Follow this wide track upwards. Cross a bridge and continue uphill to the left. Take the steep right-hand path which climbs towards Courbanges. Stay on the path and climb a track (with views of the Chaudefour valley cirque and the Puy de Sancy) to the junction with the D36 in Courbanges.

Étape 12

Cross the D36 and go straight up the road to a fork (view). Go downhill to the left, past the stream, up into the Courbanges forest. Turn left at the first crossroads, then right at the next fork. Cross the main driveway and go straight ahead. At the end of the forest, turn right between two fences and go down to the stream. Go straight up and cross the plateau (Monts du Forez, Cézallier and Sancy). Join a wide track which you take to the right to reach a T-junction with a road at the entrance to the village of Leylavaux. Go downhill to the left, passing through two hamlets (Le Clozel then La Bouay). After a bend, leave the road and go right down a path (with a view of Besse) to the hamlet of La Villetour. Walk down to the watering hole (bread oven, thatched cottage), keeping to the left. At the top of Rue du Lavoir, cross the D36, go left then right and climb up. At the STOP sign, turn right up the hill, then take the first turning on the left. At Place Dr A. Pipet, turn right and follow Rue des Mercières. At Place de la Gayme, turn left and, at the Médiathèque, take the porch (Office de Tourisme) to the square.