25 - Getaway between sucs and plateaux
Start: Office de tourisme de Saint-Julien-Chapteuil
Do you like variety? Then this loop is for you! This route with its contrasting atmospheres will charm you.
You will come back amazed and invigorated from this steep route, which mixes spectacular landscapes.
A tip: keep something in reserve…
- Distance
- 67.7 km
- Elevation gain
- +1692 m
- Elevation loss
- -1692 m
- Duration
- 3 h
Route on the map
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA): route licensed under ETALAB-2.0 via Données : Comité Départemental Randonnée Pédestre Haute-Loire · FFRandonnée · sportsnature.hauteloire.fr — sous licence ETALAB 2.0.
The feel of the route
A mosaic of volcanic riches
It's better than a book: a route through the heart of the volcanic landscapes of the Mézenc Meygal!
Domes, or sucs, are numerous along your cycling route.
They result from the outpouring of phonolitic lava, which is more viscous than basaltic lava. Instead of flowing, the molten material built up around its exit point. They bear witness to the strength of volcanic activity in Haute-Loire, where the oldest volcanic structures appeared more than 14 million years ago, while the youngest date back only a few hundred years.
Besides domes, sucs and lava flows, volcanic activity has produced other types of relief in the region.
Peaks and needles are the vents of volcanoes whose walls have disappeared through erosion. Some lakes result from the filling of an explosion crater created when magma met the water table.
In pictures
Other hikes in the area
Mountain biking
Cycling
Mountain biking