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Walking Holidays - Volcanic Auvergne

Volcanic Auvergne

France

From £759 P/P

Discover the Auvergne region, the green heart of France, with its unique volcanic landscape on this 8 day self-guided walk. With eighty closely strung together volcanoes, dense untamed forests, ancient valleys formed by glaciers and placid mountain lakes your walks will be full of contrast. In the course of the week you will be fascinated by this extraordinary landscape and taste some of the finest produce from the fresh green meadows, forests and lakes. The region is also well-known for its variety of cheeses: roughly a quarter of the French AOC-cheese originates from the Auvergne area.

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Itinerary
Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Clermont-Ferrand

From Clermont-Ferrand the Puy de Dôme and the Puys mountain chain are already visible. A must-see is the Basilica Notre-Dame-du-Port, a masterpiece from the Romantic area and made from black volcanic Puys rock.

Day 2: Clermont-Ferrand - Puy de Dôme - Lachamps

After a short transfer in the morning to the small village of Orcines, you will start your walking tour and will discover the Pariou volcano, one of the most amazing cinder cones. After that the trail ascends to the peak of the well-known Puy de Dôme. Enjoy the panoramic view onto the green volcanic landscape at your feet. Finally walk to Lachamps for your overnight stay.

Details: approx. 4.5 hours | 14km | Ascent 660m / Descent 600m.

Day 3: From Lachamps via Puy de Pourcharet to Orcival

After a short walk uphill on volcanic rock you approach the twin-volcanoes of La Vache and Lassolas, situated amidst younger cinder cones. Across green pastures and past grazing herds of sheep you reach Orcival, famous for its medieval Basilica.

Details: approx. 5.5 hours | 16km | Ascent 420m / Descent 420m.

Day 4: From Orcival to Chambon

In the course of the morning you get to Servière, where a small crater lake lies tucked away in a luscious lava field. The crystal clear water will tempt you to jump in and cool off. Walk to Pessade and then onwards to Beaune-le-Froid. From there descend through the Jump of Pucelle to Chambon, where you can marvel at a tiny lake which was formed by the volcanic rocks of the Puy du Tartaret.

Details: approx. 6 hours | 23km | Ascent 750m / Descent 780m.

Day 5: From Chambon to Saint Nectaire

Today’s tour takes you all around Lake Chambon, up onto Puy de Tartaret and finally you reach the medieval town of Murol. There on top of a basalt block towers an impressive castle from the 12th century. In the afternoon over to Saint Nectaire, which is not only famous for the cheese but also for the beautiful Romanesque church on top of Cornadore mountain.

Details: approx. 3.5 hours | 11km | Ascent 250m / Descent 430m.

Day 6: From Saint Nectaire to Besse en Chandesse

The day starts with a walk through small villages and via pastures you encounter an ancient lava flow and walk on it towards the river Saint Victor. In the afternoon you carry on to the Southern slopes of this massif and finally into the tiny village of Besse en Chandesse.

Details: approx. 5 to 6 hours | 14km | Ascent 530m / Descent 260m.

Day 7: From Besse en Chandesse to Le Mont Dore

As a final treat the highest point of the Auvergne region awaits: the peak of Sancy. You walk along the edge of an ancient glacial valley - the nature reserve Chaudefour, along the crest and spot marmots and chamois. After enjoying the fabulous panoramic views, you start your descent towards the thermal spa Mont Dore.

Details: approx. 5 to 6 hours | 17km | Ascent 880m / Descent 840m.

Day 8: Departure
Route Overview

Route Overview

Moderately difficult walks on well-signposted walking paths and forest trails. Daily sections between 11 and 23km long and with a duration of approx. 3.5 to 6 hours.
Travel Info

Travel Information

We recommend flying to Clermont-Ferrand airport.

Train journey to Clermont-Ferrand and by bus/train into city centre, from there short walk to hotel.

Parking: public parking spaces, cost approx. EUR 75 per week, no reservation necessary. Return train journey from Le Mont Dore to Clermont-Ferrand or by bus, takes approx. 1.5 hours.

See www.sncf.com/en for French rail travel.

Flights are available with a number of airlines to your required airport, we recommend using Skyscanner to find the best flight prices by date.

Important: Please book your flights only after this trip has been confirmed by invoice or email. Flights are not included in the advertised holiday price.

General, visa, passport and health information.

For passport and visa information, please check the relevant section on this page: https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/passports. General Travel and health Information for your destination is available on the FCO website. Click here for the latest travel advice for France, and click here for useful ‘know before you go’ information also from the FCO. Please note that this information relates to UK passport holders only and that other nationalities should refer to their own authorities for this information.

Travel Insurance

For details of specialist insurance for our travel packages, please visit our insurance page. You must ensure that your travel insurance policy covers you to participate in the activities included as part of your holiday.
What’s Included?

What’s Included?

- 7 nights accommodation incl. breakfast
– Luggage transfer
– Transfers according to itinerary
– Carefully elaborated route description
– Detailed tour information
– Service hotline

Any local tourist taxes are not included in the holiday price and are payable at the hotel.
Accommodation

Accommodation

Your accommodation is in lovely and cosy 2** hotels and country hotels (French classification) carefully chosen for their location, hospitality and proximity to your tour route.

Pricing & Availability

Please Note;

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the uncertainty over travel we are pausing the 2021 update of the Whereabouts website and will now be focussing on what we are sure will be an exciting 2022 season. If you are interested in any of our holidays for the 2021 Season please call 0161 703 8161 and we would be happy to assist you.

2019 Walking Holiday Prices:

Season	Date Band	Arrival Day
Season 1:	01.05 to 30.06.2019 \| 01.09 to 31.10.2019	Daily
Season 2:	01.07 to 31.08.2019	Daily

Category A:

Season	Prices per person
Season 1:	£759
Season 2:	£779

Additional Supplements:

Single Room Supplement (Season 1):	£299
Solo Traveller Supplement (Season 1):	£159
Single Room Supplement (Season 2):	£329
Solo Traveller Supplement (Season 2):	£149
Half Board Supplement:	£149
Saturday Arrival Supplement:	£25
Saturday Arrival Supplement Solo Traveller:	£50

Hotel Category Descriptions:

Category Type	Accommodation Overview
Category A:	2* hotels

Extra Nights :

Location	Price per person DBL/BB	Single Supplement SGL/BB
Clermont-Ferrand:	£59	£37
Le Mont Dore (Season 1):	£59	£36
Le Mont Dore (Season 2):	£69	£43

2020 Walking Holiday Prices:

Season	Date Band	Arrival Day
Season 1:	01.05 to 30.06.2019 \| 01.09 to 31.10.2019	Daily
Season 2:	01.07 to 31.08.2019	Daily

Category A:

Season	Prices per person
Season 1:	£xxx
Season 2:	£xxx

Additional Supplements:

Single Room Supplement (Season 1):	£xxx
Solo Traveller Supplement (Season 1):	£xxx
Single Room Supplement (Season 2):	£xxx
Solo Traveller Supplement (Season 2):	£xxx
Half Board Supplement:	£xxx
Saturday Arrival Supplement:	£xxx
Saturday Arrival Supplement Solo Traveller:	£xxx

Hotel Category Descriptions:

Category Type	Accommodation Overview
Category A:	2* hotels

Extra Nights :

Location	Price per person DBL/BB	Single Supplement SGL/BB
Clermont-Ferrand:	£59	£37
Le Mont Dore (Season 1):	£59	£36
Le Mont Dore (Season 2):	£69	£43

Date From	Date To
01 May 2019	31 October 2019

Photos

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Walking Holidays - Volcanic Auvergne

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