GR65 Way of St James, Geneva to Le Puy
Start: Le Tracol
Path to Santiago de Compostela, Geneva to Le Puy. On leaving Geneva, the pilgrim makes their way through a rolling landscape of hedged farmland (bocage) with views of the snow-capped summits of the Jura. The Rhône then shows its slopes carpeted with vineyards and its drained marshes planted with poplars. The climate is so mild that people speak of the “little Provence of Savoie”. After the green hills of the Bas-Dauphiné where the horizon is dotted with mountain peaks, the walker reaches the foothills of the Pilat massif. Then orchards and vineyards give way to plateaux and pastures. As you head into Haute-Loire, the volcanic imprint gradually takes hold of the landscape, with great basalt organ pipes or volcanic pitons. All around, the forest wraps the walker in its dense, welcoming cloak. The arrival at Le Puy-en-Velay gives a foretaste of the final destination in Galicia, because here too one of the last stages is called “Montjoie”.
- Distance
- 81.7 km
- Elevation gain
- +2040 m
- Elevation loss
- -2451 m
- Duration
- 96 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 via Gebennensis, a Way of St James route.
Although a large share of pilgrims set out for Santiago de Compostela from Paris, Vézelay, Le Puy or Arles, a number began their pilgrimage further back along the route, notably from towns closer to where they lived. The route starting in Geneva is one of those itineraries attached to a main route (via podiensis or via Tolosana), crossing Savoie and Dauphiné to join the Forez, the Velay or Provence. But nothing stops us giving it a traditional name linking it to the history of the pilgrimage, namely the via Gebennensis, named after its starting point, Geneva. After all, why shouldn't this path also have a right to its Latin name: the noun via, followed by the adjective relating to its starting city, Geneva? The adjective gebennensis is, incidentally, attested in medieval texts. Indeed, the city of Geneva, rich in an important religious past, deserves recognition just as others do. It was an important city in the Middle Ages, of great economic vitality, international renown and the seat of a bishopric, just like Tours, Limoges, Le Puy or Arles. It is therefore quite rightly that it can give its name to a Way of St James route.
The route in detail
The stages below are only suggestions.
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Cycling
Mountain biking
Cycling