The Blue Barn
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The Blue Barn
Bort-les-Orgues

The Blue Barn

Geological interest
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Massif du Sancy, Château de Val, Lac de Bort, Les Orgues, an itinerary all about exploration...
This hike offers a succession of breathtaking panoramas: from the town of Bort to the Massif du Sancy, from the Château de Val to the Château de Pierrefitte and the Grange Bleue (the barn which owes its name to its slate roof). The Orgues, like organ pipes, end up dominating you, letting you admire their majesty from all angles. One great advantage of this trail in spring or autumn: the absence of foliage allows a good view of Les Orgues.

4 points of interest

  • History

    Bort-les-Orgues

    The Dordogne runs through Bort-les-Orgues (2,700 inhabitants) which is an area of passage between the Cantal, Corrèze and Puy de Dôme, hence its vocation as a trading town. In the 19th century, Bort turned to manufacture. It has a long tradition of tannery, still very present today, and there is a museum dedicated to this activity. Its dam, commissioned in 1952, can be seen within an interpretation area.
  • Geological interest

    The lake of Bort and the Chateau de Val

    Dated from the 15th century, the Château de Val is one of the best-preserved in Auvergne and Limousin today. When the dam was filled in 1951, its natural environment was modified: built on a rock more than 30 metres high, overlooking the Dordogne Valley, the bottoms of its walls were indeed surrounded by the waters of the Dordogne. This chateau is open to visitors and renowned exhibition of paintings if held there every summer.
  • Panorama

    View over the Puy de Sancy

    This hike will offer you a remarkable view of the highest volcano in metropolitan France, the Puy de Sancy. At an altitude of 1885 metres, this summit is the highest point in the Massif Central. The two streams, the Dore and the Dogne, originate there and their confluence forms the Dordogne.
  • Geological interest

    At the foot of the Organs

    Admire these 100-metre-high cliffs that stretch nearly two kilometres. They are 15 million years old. The cooling lava flow at the origin of the site formed these immense columns called "orgues", certainly in reference to the musical instrument. This flow, once at the bottom of the valley, was brought to the surface by the action of erosion, and is therefore in "inversion of relief". These cliffs are home to a large population of Red Kites.

Description

Depart from the Place du Foirail. Go back up to the RD 979. Cross it and go up the few steps.

  1. Take the small road that rises above Bort. Pass behind the Virgin’s statue and continue. At the top of a slightly steeper slope, take a trail to the right. You reach the village of La Côte. Go through it. Turn right at the next road junction to join the D979.
  2. Follow it on the left for 700 m, leaving, on the right, the road that goes down to Les Aubazines. As you leave of the village of Vioux, turn right onto the path parallel to the B-road which eventually joins it.
  3. Cross over and take the small road opposite. After 200 m, turn left onto the rising track. When you arrive at the edge of the forest, take the path on the right and then the path on the left. Continue the ascent straight ahead. At the T-junction, take the path on the left which joins the forest track.
  4. Follow it to the left. At the Y-junction, turn left. The track becomes a small tarmac road.
  5. At the crossroads, turn right. At the next crossroads, follow Les Orgues. On your right, leave Chaumeil then Le Roussillou.
  6. 200 m after Le Roussillou, take a path on the left. Go straight ahead when you reach the old barn. The path continues for a long time below the organ pipe rock formations.
  7. At the crossroads, turn left. Follow the road on the left for a few metres and find the path on the right which goes down to Bort. Take the D979 to the left to find the starting point again.
  • Departure : Place du champs de Foire, Bort-les-Orgues
  • Arrival : Place du champs de Foire, Bort-les-Orgues
  • Towns crossed : Bort-les-Orgues and Sarroux - Saint Julien

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Information desks

287 Place Marmontel, 19110 Bort-les-Orgues

05 19 60 00 30

Access and parking

The Champs de Foire square is located on the edge of the D979 at the exit of Bort in the direction of the dam.

Parking :

Place du Champ de Foire, Bort-les-Orgues

More information

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