Le Puy Camino - Conques to Cahors

Welcome to Conques! As well as being considered as one of the most beautiful villages in all of France, Conques is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and a perennial favourite amongst travellers and photographers. The view over this mediaeval village is breathtaking with its stone-roofed cottages and dominating towers of the Romanesque Abbey Church Sainte Foy. Don’t miss a visit to the Church and the ‘pilgrims bridge’, and roam the small laneways and alleyways as you soak up the atmosphere and are transported back in time. 

Overnight: Conques

Meals: None

Leaving Conques behind, cross the Pont Romain pilgrims bridge over the river, from here it’s a steep climb up to the chapel of Sainte-Foy and upwards to the surrounding hills where the view back down over the village is striking. There is a variant of the GR65 here, the GR6, which branches off to the right to rejoin the GR65 after 8.5km at Fonteilles. The trail leads to the hamlet of Noailhac followed by the small chapel dedicated to Saint Roch, rejoining the GR6 before the steady descent through forests, fields and dairy farms to Decazeville.

Decazeville, established in the nineteenth century as a coal mining and steel town, is now a sprawling modern and important commercial and industrial centre.

Overnight: Decazeville

Meals: B

Walking out of Decazeville this morning there will be a steady climb on quiet country lanes that lead to the hilltop village of Montredon, dominated by its church Saint Michel and Romanesque Chapel of Saint Mary. The route then crosses beautiful countryside to Figeac.

Founded in 830 AD around its Benedictine abbey, Figeac contains a substantial and interesting historical centre. The town still has many houses and small palaces dating from the 13th – 16th centuries. It is the birthplace of Champollion, (decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs), and it is possible to visit the Champollion Museum. On the ‘Place des Ecritures’ there is a giant copy of the Rosetta stone.

Overnight: Figeac

Meals: B

You have a lengthy hike ahead today as you leave the Aveyron region for Le Lot, one of the few remaining unspoilt regions of France, with vast areas of primaeval oak forest, tranquil river valleys, historical sites and hilltop villages.

The route crosses the Cele River before ascending the limestone plateau offering fantastic views. Pass by the Aiguille du Cingle, an unusual octagonal obelisk of stone that acted as a beacon for pilgrims from the thirteenth century. Continue past the little village of Faycelles, and then skirt Beduer where the imposing Chateau de Beduer has stood guard over the Cele valley for 800 years. Onward towards Grealou through wild landscapes passing by a stone cross from the middle ages, reputedly the oldest wayside stone cross on the Camino. You will then meet up with the Lot River once you begin to descend into Cajarc, a well-known stop along the Way of St James.

Overnight: Cajarc

Meals: B

Today the Camino leaves the lush greenery of the Lot and crosses the Parc Regional des Causses du Quercy, a relatively arid plateau where rainwater seeping through the limestone has created a landscape of deep valleys, underground rivers, caves and depressions. In the past, pilgrims dreaded crossing the Causses, as there were no dwellings, very little water and terrain conducive to the attacks of bandits who roamed the region. Things are vastly different today and the shorter walk to Limogne-en-Quercy allows time to absorb the heritage of the area. Look out for historical remnants along the way; walls of stones, gariottes or caselles (a dry stone shelter for the shepherd or farm workers), dolmens, the ruins of once splendid ‘piccionaia’ pigeon houses and the ‘butterfly washers’, which were used for washing linen until the 20th century. Limogne-en-Quercy, is famous for its truffle fair, usually held on Sunday mornings from December to March and in summer.

Overnight: Limogne en Quercy

Meals: B

Another lovely walk through the isolation of the Causses on a level trail through woods of scrubby oak trees and low bushes, passing by abandoned farms and with few people between the towns. There is the opportunity to see more dolmens, old windmills, wells, dry stone walls and a pretty monolithic cross carved from a single block. After the villages of Varaire and Bach, you will be walking on the old ‘Cami Ferrat’ which was the original paved ‘iron path’ Roman road constructed on the orders of Julius Caesar during the invasion of Gaul. Continue on this relatively straight road until the diversion to Lalbenque.

Overnight: Lalbenque

Meals: B

Before departure this morning, make sure you have a hearty breakfast and carry lunch, snacks and plenty of water, as there is little in the way of facilities to restock on the way. Crossing the road leading to Laburgade, the Camino continues following the old Cami Ferrat through a succession of woodland and meadows where a little farming survives. After the trail passes under the motorway the walk is on various paths and road surfaces toward Cahors, however the forest is never far away.

On the final downhill into Cahors there are great views of the town, nestled in a bend of the Lot River. As well as being the largest city on the Le Puy Camino, Cahors is the capital of the Lot region. Cahors is perhaps best known as the centre of the famous AOC ‘black’ wine, referred to by many as the darkest in the world and known since the Middle Ages. Today Cahors is a popular centre with tourists enjoying its mediaeval quarter, and on Wednesday and Saturday mornings its colourful local street market draws more visitors.

Located in Cahors city centre, the 11th-century Roman Catholic cathedral (Cathedrale Saint-Étienne) is a national monument of France. The famous 14th-century fortified Valentré bridge crosses the river and is a well-known pilgrim milestone and an emblem of the city, as well as classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. It has three towers each with large arched gateways due to its historical role as a defensive bridge during the Hundred Years War. The broad street that runs through Cahors, the Boulevard Gambetta, was built in the 19th century over a moat that surrounded the original town fortifications.

Overnight: Cahors

Meals: B

After breakfast you are free to check out of your hotel any time before 10am. If you would like to explore Cahors, you can leave your bags with reception.

Meals: B

The closest international airports to Conques are Rodez-Aveyron Airport (RDZ) and Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS). Rodez-Aveyron Airport has connections from Paris, London, Dublin, and Brussels. From Rodez-Aveyron Airport a local taxi to Conques takes approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour. If arriving at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, travellers can book a train to Rodez GARE, and then transfer to a local bus or taxi to Conques.

If arriving into Conques by train, the closest train stations are Rodez (38km away), St-Christophe (23km away), and Le Puy-en-Velay (250km away). Travellers will need to book their train travel to either of these stations and then take a local taxi or bus to Conques. If arriving into Le Puy-en-Velay the most convenient way to travel onward to Conques is via the Compostel shuttle bus, which has a 4-hour service between Le Puy-en-Velay and Conques that departs early every morning during the season.

For onward travel from Cahors, the nearest international airports to Cahors are Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) and Brive-Souillac Airport (BVE). From Cahors the journey to Paris takes approximately 5 hours, while to Toulouse it takes approximately 1 hour and with more frequent departures. Alternatively, Flixbus is available between Cahors and both Paris and Toulouse.

The Le Puy Camino season starts on 15 April and ends on 15 October each year, so your trip must fall within this period.

• 7 nights’ accommodation in simple guesthouses or hotels with private facilities
• Daily continental style breakfasts
• Luggage transfer each day from hotel to hotel (1 x 13kg bag per person) on days when walking
• RAW Travel navigation APP with maps of your hotel locations and emergency contact numbers
• Pre-trip guidance and planning for your Camino trip

• Single supplement $650
• Flights
• Travel insurance
• Train and bus tickets
• Local taxis or transfers
• Guidebooks and maps
• All items of a personal nature