Les Corniches de Lauroux

A beautiful walk, without major difficulty and well marked, that takes you through scrubland and forests, cliffs and limestone plateaus.

Technical sheet

4098866
A Lauroux walk posted on 07/02/16 by LB_Neil. Last update : 25/02/16
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.39 km
  • ◔
    Calculated time: 5h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 646 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 641 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 776 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 304 m

Description

Park in the Lauroux car park bordering the Laurounet.

(S/F) From the car park, get onto the road opposite in the direction of Cirque de Labeil.

(1) Turn right over a bridge that crosses the small river Laurounet. Continue along a trail with Yellow markings (these will appear all along the route, sometimes both Yellow and Blue) through olive groves, vineyards and oak trees to reach a track. Turn left at the fork immediately after, turn right past a vineyard and keep it on your right to reach a wooden hut.
To the left of it, a well-marked trail starts. Go up and then down to cross the bed of a dry stream. Cross a second stream and head up a rise into the gorse scrubland. After some ups and downs, reach the bed of another stream, follow it for a short distance an then cross it.

(2) Begin a steady climb in zigzags in through some lovely gorse bushes to get to a grassy ledge with great views. Follow the footpath between grass and bushes (Yellow markings).

(3) At the junction, continue left on the footpath which becomes a little crooked and goes in a beautiful forest with a nice view on the left and a cliff on the right. Head onward over a wide ledge and then continue on to Bois Blanc. The trail starts on a little downhill section of hairpin bends and through a chaotic, rocky section and a beautiful forest that is all dark and mossy.
Continue to move to the side of a spring where small streams flow to be used in hot weather to keep you cool, and then head on to a road in the hamlet of Labeil.

(4) Follow the road uphill right for a hundred metres and then branch off onto the path on the left. It passes between houses and cliffs to reach a crossroads with an old sign that says (translated) “Lauroux - 2.5 hours”. Ignore the path down to the left and continue straight ahead following the Yellow markings.

Continue on a beautiful forested wind with a drop to the left (but with no reason to worry because of the vegetation) and, to the right, the cliffs with great views of the valley. Then leave the ledge to head onto the plateau. The beech forest is beautiful and is quickly traversed arriving on a track with signs (to the right, Cirque de Labeil)

(5) Turn left on the track that leads to a picnic area (tables and barbecue). A lunch break will be welcome.

(6) Leave the track which is oriented to the west and turn left onto a yellow-marked trail that enters a forest. Follow this path until you reach a gate with a sign.

(7) Leave the path off to the right and continue in the direction of Lauroux. We reach the plateau and the trail weaves through rocks in various shapes and then descends through a pine forest to reach a road.

(8) Turn left downhill. Upon arrival at a track, follow it to the right and continue to the sign that tells us we are at Le Frontal (from there you can get to a viewing point over Lauroux, signposted as 300 m away).

(9) From Le Frontal, continue down the track and meet up with a branching path at a right turn.

(10) Veer left into a well-marked trail and head down to fall upon a track.

(11) Veer a few metres to the left and then turn right in the bushes following the yellow markings. Keep left on these two intersections, leave the bushes for grasslands and continue on the flat grounds to meet up with a paved track.

(12) Quickly leave this for a path to the right just before a vineyard. The path becomes a road and enters the village. At the entrance of the village, in a curve to the left, leave the road and take the stairs on the right. At the bottom of the stairs, turn left, go past the washhouses and turn right to get to the car park (S/F).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 305 m
  2. 1 : km 0.32 - alt. 314 m - Turn right on the bridge over Le Laurounet
  3. 2 : km 2.38 - alt. 439 m - Cross the stream
  4. 3 : km 4.2 - alt. 706 m - Fork, keep left
  5. 4 : km 6.13 - alt. 687 m - Labeil, take the road to the right
  6. 5 : km 6.96 - alt. 742 m - Track, signs, turn left
  7. 6 : km 7.79 - alt. 739 m - Pass by a track to the right and turn left
  8. 7 : km 8.67 - alt. 756 m - After the gate, go straight until Causse
  9. 8 : km 9.79 - alt. 689 m - Junction head down to the left
  10. 9 : km 10.72 - alt. 608 m - Continue down, with great views to the left
  11. 10 : km 11.23 - alt. 585 m - Turn left on the marked trail
  12. 11 : km 12.25 - alt. 413 m - Track, on the left then immediately to the right
  13. 12 : km 12.79 - alt. 357 m - Vineyard, leave the track and take the path to the
  14. S/E : km 13.39 - alt. 305 m

Useful Information

No water refill point (only streams to cool off in hot weather).
Picnic area at (6).

(4) Going down to the right, you can visit the the Labeil cave.

Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

During the walk or to do/see around

Visit the Labeil Cave.
Cirque of Labeil.
Panoramic view over Lauroux (9).

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 1 review

Clarity of route description
5 / 5
Clarity of route map
4 / 5
Walk interest
5 / 5
Richard0199
Richard0199

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : 06/09/18
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hi,
A really pretty walk in a lovely valley & hills surrounding the village of Lauroux.
The description by Pepe3460 was good but in any case it would be hard to lose your way here as there are plenty of official signposts, yellow markers, and the path is well used & in good condition.
What made this walk special for me is the varied landscape, from the open hill paths close to the start to the shaded forest near Labeil, and onto the corniches themselves. The view down the valley to Lauroux was stunning early in the walk, the panorama before you from the corniches is stunning.
Thanks for the walk pepe3460.

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