Features: panorama view
Overview: this is a medium walk
Time: around 5 hours Km: 15,5 Hight to climb: 619 meters
This walk will give you a panoramic view over the whole of the Pays de Gex, Geneva and the Jura mountains.
The starting point for this walk is the Refuge Pre Bouillet in Farges. To reach the Refuge Pre Bouillet you drive up Route du Col du Sac (not Cul de Sac!) as far as you get. If you only want to enjoy the view and spend the night, the refuge is available for rent between 1st May and 1st November. You can find more information here.
Start by following the yellow signs to Combe du Petit Louis. You will be walking trough a nature reserve and it is recommended that you always stay on the marked path. Between 15 December and 15 May every year it is strictly forbidden to leave the marked path. This is to protect the nature and allow animals to live and reproduce without human interference.
On your way up, you will pass what I believe was once a small chalet for hunters.
When you reach the Combe du Petit Louis, you continue following the signs to Chalet du Sac and Pierre a Fromage.
As soon as you emerge above the treeline, you will enter the typical Jura Alpine pastures and walk past several summer chalets.
You will also be walking past several “goyas” this is water reserves created in clay sinkholes. The water enters a crack, carries the clay which fills the bottom of the sinkhole, making it waterproof. The shepherds covered the bottom with leaves which they had trampled by the cows in order to solidify it.
Pierre a Fromage: Several hypotheses exist to explain the name of this strange stone. Some speculate that it was the place where the local lords paid taxes from the production of cheese made during the summer. Others believe that this stone served as a resting place during the transport of the cheeses on people’s backs.
When you have passed la Pierre a Fromage, you walk along a circuit which starts by walking up to Cret de la Goutte. Here, you will have an amazing 360 view of Geneva and the Jura massif. On a good day you can see as far as lac d’Annecy and Lac du Bourget and of course the Alps and Mont Blanc.
After some time spent admiring this incredible view, continue towards Sorgia en Haut, where you can admire the view of Bellegarde and its surrounding villages. From here, you redescend to Sous Varambon before starting to walk up again towards Chalet de Varambon. After passing the Chalet the Varambon, follow signs towards Pierre a Fromage and follow the same path down to the Refuge du Pre Bouillet.
Happy walking, and feel free to share!
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