The Salt Fountain

Fontaine Salée is the lovely name of one of the three glacial valleys of the Sancy massif, in the Puy-de-Dôme in Auvergne, and it is also the title of the magnificent loop that circles it.

A day of hiking, starting from Picherande, allows you to discover the impressive glacial circus of Fontaine Salée, whose pastoral activity is now protected by a Nature Reserve.

Every time I overlooked it from the top of Puy de Sancy, this valley caught my eye...

On the topoguide Chamina "Massif du Sancy - The Essentials - Walking Tours", I had spotted a hike that crossed it. But when they were young, there was no question of imposing a mountain circuit of 16 kilometers on the children...

Very different from its neighbor the valley of Chaudefour, shaped like a trough, the wide grassy valley of Fontaine Salée, dominated by the silhouette of Puy de Sancy, offers equally grandiose landscapes.

The viewpoints on the south face of Sancy, as well as the panoramas of Artense and Cézalier, are particularly fabulous!

Departure: Parking near the Taraffet inn in Chareire