Cascade du Bois de Chaux

The Cascade du Bois de Chaux is at Égliseneuve-d'Entraigues, in the Artense, in the south of the Puy-de-Dôme département: you park at the Entraigues lake (from the village, head for Besse, then turn right at the lake) and a waymarked path takes you to the waterfall, less than 300 m away. Allow about twenty minutes there and back, and the path is even fine for a pushchair, which is not so common for a waterfall. Access is free all year round.

On site, the Entraigues stream tumbles down a wide fall that is not very high, broken into several steps by an old lava flow. The result: water sliding over black basalt rock carpeted in moss, in a shady little valley lined with beech trees. Come in spring or after heavy rain: in dry spells, the flow drops off noticeably.

Its neighbour, the Cascade d'Entraigues, can be reached from the same car park. It is easy to link the two in the same walk from the lake; the path runs alongside the campsite.