Description
France’s volcanic landscape on foot.
The Auvergne offers a different walking experience from the high Alps: old volcanoes, rounded mountain ridges, crater lakes and valleys with villages and monasteries. The guide opens up a holiday where nature and culture go hand in hand. You can use a fixed base or combine several areas on a longer journey through the Massif Central.
42 walks across five areas.
The selection covers Cantal, Chaîne des Puys, Monts Dore, Haute-Loire and Montagne Bourbonnaise. The walks are graded and include sketch maps that support the descriptions. Puy de Dôme, Puy Mary and Puy de Sancy are among the highlights, along with lakes, forests and historic sites that add variety between walking days.
Practical help and geological background.
The book provides information on, among other things, accommodation and public transport, and explains how volcanic activity has shaped the region. Le Puy-en-Velay and Vichy serve as suitable larger bases, while smaller towns such as Murat and Orcival give access to specific mountain areas. Material on nature and local food adds further perspectives to the walking holiday.
Who is this book suitable for?
The routes range from shorter, easy outings to longer and steeper days for more experienced walkers. The grading makes it possible to choose according to both fitness and interest. The publisher states May–October as the suitable walking season; in winter, higher-lying areas can be snow-covered and require quite different equipment and experience.
A long tradition of hiking guides.
Cicerone has been publishing guidebooks since 1969. The publisher grew out of a community of climbers and mountain people who wanted to share detailed knowledge of their routes – a tradition that still characterizes these compact books for walking, trekking and other outdoor experiences.
About this edition.
Author: Rachel Crolla and Carl McKeating. English language. 256 pages. First edition, published in 2013. ISBN 9781852846510.
