Vote for the most beautiful hike in the Allier

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premium A middle-earth hike from Nassigny (Allier)

Path of the bocage and the forest

Gipcy. The Forest of Grosbois owes its name to the prodigious dimensions of the oaks that were exploited there in the past. The oaks are remarkable for the slenderness of the barrels, approaching 40 m in the bicentenary high forests, their straightness, providing wood for stave milling. In this forest is the former Saint-Jean-de-Grandmont abbey now dedicated to the Jean-Taillardat forest ecomuseum. The 10.6 kilometer hike allows you to realize that the terroir of Gipcy is divided between forest and bocage dedicated to livestock farming.
Chemin du Bocage and the forest, 10.6 kilometres, yellow markingsGrosbois Forest

Circuit of the Matras coasts

Noyant-d’Allier. The panorama of the Côtes Matras offers a breathtaking view of the Bourbonnais landscapes and its bocages in a wooded setting. With its 485 meters of altitude, the belvedere offers a panoramic sight on the chain of Puys, the mounts of Morvan and Forez, the solid mass of Combrailles or the valley of Montluçon. From the orientation table, the softwood forest surrounds the hikers, accentuating the impression of a bubble in nature. This 18.3 kilometer hike is also an opportunity to visit the pagoda or the mining museum.
Circuit of the Matras coasts, 18.3 kilometers

The Matras coasts.

The Darot Valley

Mariol. About 3 hours for this easy hike of about ten kilometers and little difference in altitude, the start of which is opposite the church. The first kilometers run along the Darot stream, first crossing Mariol, next to the castle, then down the valley to Piégut, an attractive village with its stone houses, wells, ovens and various crosses, numerous in that sector. On the way back, beautiful view of the Val d’Allier and the Chaîne des Puys. During the climb to Piégut, you can see on the left the entrance to an old lead mine which is home to a colony of bats (protected species).
The Darot Valley, 11 kilometres, yellow markingsMariol mine

The Great Serve

La Chabanne. An easy hike of 9 kilometers with 250 meters of elevation. The start of the Grande Serve hike is located on the church square. Numerous in the Montagne Bourbonnaise, the serfs are small ponds that were once used to water livestock or for laundry. Today they are small ecosystems where fauna and flora develop. This varied and hilly circuit by ridge paths offers beautiful viewpoints, crossings of typical hamlets and clear streams in the undergrowth where mainly beech dominates. From the Grande Serve, a breathtaking view of the Bois Noirs.
La Grande Serve, 9 kilometres, yellow markings

Undergrowth dominated by beech.

The Tartas

Marcillat-en-Combraille. You feel a certain emotion when you cross Saint-Pardoux, a ghostly village in the Tartasse valley, which the Chambonchard dam would have flooded if the project had not fallen into oblivion. This is one of the curiosities that this demanding loop of 22 kilometers in store around the La Tartasse river and starting from Marcillat-en-Combraille has in store for us. A beautiful immersion in the unspoiled nature of the Combraille.
The Tartas. 22 kilometers. Yellow markup

Saint Pardoux

La Oulch/wine tourism at the Domaine des Bérioles

Cease. The Domaine des Bérioles has developed the first five wine tourism walks in the Saint-Pourçain vineyard. This 11-kilometre walk that starts from the estate’s cellar is dotted with “stopovers” which are all meeting points with the 4 themes proposed: awakening to the world of viticulture, visit of places, discovery of landscapes, knowledge of a historical or cultural detail. The walk can end with a tasting within the estate, since it is a loop.
La Oulch, 11 kilometers

Domain of Berioles

St. Vincent Rock

Lavoine. The start of this 8-kilometre hike, whose markings are yellow, is located on the church square. After a relatively easy walk, you reach the famous Rocher Saint-Vincent, at an altitude of 925 m. This mythical place of the Montagne Bourbonnaise offers a remarkable and impressive panoramic view to admire the Sichon valley, the panorama of the Black Woods and the north of the plain of Limagne. The top houses an orientation table and the remains of the castle of Pyramont.
Le Rocher Saint-Vincent, 8 kilometres, yellow markings

St. Vincent Rock

Puy Saint-Ambroise

Saint-Leon. An 8.4 kilometer hike. With its 442 meters of altitude, the Puy Saint-Ambroise offers a view of seven departments: Allier, Nièvre, Cher, Saône-et-Loire, Loire, Rhône and Puy-de-Dôme. Classified as a “Landscape site” since 1995, it is a place steeped in history: a remnant of an ancient volcano from the primary era (more than 250 million years old), it was then occupied by Benedictine monks in the 11th century. century, for 800 years. An important priory was built, of which the Romanesque chapel remains today.
Puy Saint-Ambroise, 8.4 kilometres,

Puy Saint-Ambroise photo François-Xavier Gutton

Castle circuit

Saint-Eloy-d’Allier. On the borders of Berry, Creuse and Bourbonnais stands a mysterious castle, which George Sand could have been inspired to write the novel Mauprat. “A small castle in ruins, crouched in a ravine whose chipped turrets can only be discovered about a hundred paces from the portcullis…”, wrote the novelist, familiar with the region. The ruins of La Roche Guillebaud are to be discovered on this 11.5 kilometer hike from Saint-Éloy-d’Allier. A picnic is possible on the shores of Lake Sidiailles.
Castle tour. 11.5 kilometers. Yellow markup.

La Roche Guillebaud