The Col la Vôte walk



The 16.1 kilometre long, but technically easy Col la Vôte walk from the village of Montaulieu is a must in every season. We walked it ourselves on November 20th, with still some beautiful autumn colours. In the sun it was lovely. In places where the sun didn’t shine, it was a bit chilly, but with a shirt with long sleeves it was still nice.

Montaulieu

The walk starts in the village of Montaulieu. The village consists of a church and a few houses and there are no other facilities. So take enough food and drink with you. Just before you arrive in Montaulieu, you will see a sign on your left towards the parking and the cemetery (Cimetière). Park there, because otherwise there is little parking space in the village.

Walk from the parking towards the church and turn left before the church towards Col des Lantons and Relais de Villard. Soon the asphalt changes into an unpaved path. You keep following this broad path, going up gradualy. The climb never becomes steep and you can look around you on the way, enjoying the views and beautiful rock formations.

Col des Lantons

After 4.9 km you arrive at the Col des Lantons, situated at an altitude of 726 metres, where several paths converge. Turn right here, in the direction of the Col la Vôte. After 1.8 km you arrive at the Col la Vôte situated at 701 metres altitude. Also here, several paths come together. And also here you take the right path, which can be closed for motorised traffic by a barrier.

A little steeper

You keep following this path. From here, it is mostly downhill. When you reach the hairpin section, the path becomes a little steeper. But it remains a wide path, with no technical difficulties. Occasionally you will pass a house. Just before you reach the main road, the path is surfaced.

When you reach that main road, turn left and follow this road until the hamlet of St-Aubanet. In this hamlet you turn right. You go under a porch to get on the path. This path bends to the right quite soon. From the hamlet of St-Aubanet it is still 2,3 kilometres slightly uphill to the starting point in Montaulieu.

Doing the Col la Vôte walk yourself

The route is signposted by means of yellow stripes, which are often painted on trees. You can find the Col la Vôte walk and the accompanying GPX-track on AllTrails and in the gîte you’ll find a (French) description and route map (hike 11 in the folder). In the gîte you will find besides this walk from Montaulieu also many more ideas for walks in the area. You can find the map at the bottom of this page.