Dordogne & Lot Day Hiking
 

We like to stay 5-7 nights in one place, branching out each day for a hike in the area, occasionally spending a day in a town or village, or combining a town visit with a walk. . So we would like a recommendation for two different geographic areas in the Dordogne and/or Lot Valley - different terrains or cultures that would give us a good feeling for the area. (As an example, when we visited the Auverne, we spent 7 nights in La Bourboule and 6 nights in Salers - not too far apart, but very different for hiking.)

I can heartily recommend basing somewhere along the Cirq d' Autoire. The Cirq is a scenic and comfortable day hike, visiting tiny Autoire and a few towns and cozy villages on the circuit, like Loubressac. You might consider basing in Loubressac. Carennac is a beautifully-situated town on the Dordogne and could serve as a northerly base with myriad hiking choices along the tranquil river from there.(see pix which I'll post below)

You could also decide to base in one of our all-time favorite lodgings near Rocamadour (Chateau de la Rhue, with a nice forested trail leading from the Chateau into Rocamadour, arriving at the top level of the town). From there you could do Autoire and Carennac for a day trip, or split it into two days. You'll want to visit the Gouffre du Padirac between the Chateau and Autoire.

Another suggestion is in and around somewhat isolated Conques along the dramatic Gorges du Dourdou, just south of the River Lot. You could use Figeac as a base or Conques itself. (again see pix).

We thoroughly enjoyed our two meanderings in both the Dordogne and Lot regions.

Sorry...it's <u>Domaine</u> de la Rhue!

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...eAndLotRegion#

Enjoy yout trip...you'll love it.

We stayed at Albas in the Lot and loved it. It's a small town and an easy drive to other towns. We went for a few long walks and I'm sure there would be great hikes in the area. The scenery is spectacular.

I would recommend making Gramat your base in the Lot.

Here is a list of the hikes that you can make from there showing the total distance, the number of meters up or down during the hike, and how long the hike should take.

http://www.visorando.com/randonnee-gramat.html

I'll echo tower's recommendation for the area around Autoire, Loubressac and environs. I spent two weeks vacationing in that area and I wrote a photo report about my vacation so if you want to see photos of some of the many places you could visit in that area and learn a bit about them you can have a look:

http://tinyurl.com/q6bb5av

Other nearby places to visit are Turenne, Collonges-la-Rouge, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Curemonte, Carennac, Saint-Ceré, Château de Montal, Gouffre de Padirac, Martel, Castelnau, Rocamadour etc. Sarlat and other popular sites in the Dordogne are nearby as well. A little further south you can also visit the famous prehistoric cave of Pech Merle (I did) and other well known sites in that area like Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Cahors, Figeac etc.

In regards to hiking it's something you don't really even have to research ahead of time. Visit a tourist office in any of the popular touristy towns and they'll have books, maps and other info about hikes you can do in the area. If they don't they'll direct you to a bookstore where you can get all the info you need, though it may be in French.

If you google the phrase "randonée (enter your region)" you can find plenty of info about hiking on the web, such as this:

http://www.tourismecorreze.com/fr/ra...randonnee.html

http://www.tourisme-lot.com/en/28/pa...edestre/page/0

http://www.dordogne-perigord-tourism...destre-309.htm

I'm pretty sure you can just google in English as well and find plenty of info.

Thanks for all the recommendations. We are just in the planning stage for a May trip.

If you are looking for two bases, Montignac or one of the nearby smaller villages could also be a good place for a day hiking base. I've bought two different books/sets of circular day hikes in this area from the Montignac tourist office. (There are also two good bookstores with hiking maps and guidebooks in the village near the tourist office.) In this area, many walks will take you by smaller villages, chateaus or prehistoric sites. It's really a beautiful and very interesting area.

I don't know if you read French, but this is a good resource I found online: http://www.lascaux-dordogne.com/fr/b...-et-randonnees (A boucle is a loop or circular walk.)

Kathy

Thanks - Montignac also looks good to us! We've got our dates for the last two weeks of May and are working on the details now.

I'm glad to hear you've made a decision and hope you enjoy Montignac and the hiking in the area. We will be back there for four weeks in June.

There is a beautiful walk not far from Montignac around the remote Chateau de Grande Filolie. I'd also highly recommend doing a hike around the Commarque. Check out Fanlac also... there's so much to see and do in that area.

Enjoy your time!

Kathy