Gorges of the Loire

Walking in France: Gorges of the Loire short walk
Gorges of the Loire short walk

Like so many French rivers, the Loire rises in the Massif Central and flows generally westward towards the sea. Its upper waters, however, take a northerly course through the mountains and over millions of years they have worn a gorge, deep in some places, wide and fertile in others.

Our four-day walk took us upstream from Aurec-sur-Loire to le Puy and we passed through a great variety of landscapes, including dry, eroded hillsides, flooded gravel-pits, forests, rich pastures and savage, rocky escarpments.

This was part of a longer walk that we did in 2011.

Getting to Aurec-sur-Loire

Aurec has a railway station so you can get there from almost anywhere in France .

Our route for this section

Our route for this walk

Day 1: Aurec-sur-Loire to Bas-en-Basset

Day 2: Bas-en-Basset to Retournac

Day 3: Retournac to Vorey-sur-Arzon

Day 4: Vorey-sur-Arzon to le Puy-en-Velay

This map shows accommodation icons for each night. Zoom in on a particular icon to see its precise location.

You can also see this map using Google Earth and take a virtual flight along our route.

Back to four-day short walks

Back to top