CyclingHardBoucle

34 - From the Pic du Lizieux to Devesset

Start: Tence

From the village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, you will admire the landscapes of the Vivarais-Lignon plateau, at an average altitude of 1,000 metres. You will pass through the village of Le Mazet-Saint-Voy, known as the most Protestant commune in France, before heading for the Pic and the Forêt du Lizieux, which you will go around, with fine panoramas over the sucs (volcanic peaks). Passing through Araules and Saint-Jeures next, the 2 villages are known for their treats, one for the cheeses of the Laiterie Gérentes, the other for the “red pearls” of the Monts du Velay, as well as for the long-distance footpaths that cross them, the Way of St James of Compostela and the Way of Saint-Régis. You will head down towards Lac de Lavalette and return via the village of Tence, a village on the banks of the Lignon, heading for Montregard and Le Mas-de-Tence among fir forests, with spectacular views and on quiet roads…

Distance: 70.6 km
Elevation gain: +1356 m
Elevation loss: -1355 m
Duration: 5 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

The Pic du Lizieux

Rising to 1,388 metres, the Pic du Lizieux and its forest will delight you with an abundance of bilberries, mushrooms and wild flora. The site, partly listed under Natura 2000, offers a grand volcanic setting. This suc, a geological site dating back 12.7 million years, is an old volcano. It is also a place for outdoor activities and an open book for lovers of history and unspoilt nature. You will be able to discover an astonishing rock, called “la dentellière” (the lacemaker). Formed of phonolite cliffs cut vertically into large prisms, the equivalent of the famous basalt columns, it is one of the remains left when the lava cooled. History mingles with nature here. In the 10th century, at the foot of the Lizieux, there also stood one of the first castles of the Velay, the lordship of Bonas. The Lizieux forest was a place of resistance during the Second World War, and it is also a reminder that the Vivarais-Lignon Plateau was a mountain refuge that took in Jewish refugees, notably many children hidden in the farms or the boarding houses of the villages.