Grande Cascade du Mt Dore

Puy de Dome, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France

About Grande Cascade du Mt Dore

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La Grande Cascade du Mont Dore (the Big Waterfall of the Mt Dore) was a pleasant waterfall excusion that took in not only the waterfall but wonderful birds eye views of the alpine town of Mt Dore.

Such birds eye views were made even more attractive given that the surrounding mountains and massifs including Puy de Sancy backed the town of Le Mt-Dore.

Mt-Dore_021_20120511 - La Grande Cascade du Mont-Dore
La Grande Cascade du Mont-Dore

There were several cascades and waterfalls in the Mt Dore area, but the Grande Cascade was the most impressive one.

It was the main reason why I cherry-picked it on our limited time at the source of the Dordogne River.

By the way, I only realized we were at the source when I saw a local map showing a stream called Dore and another called Dogne join and form the Dordogne River near town.

Although La Grande Cascade du Mont-Dore was said to be 30m, it appeared taller than that.

Perhaps this was because we were able to see it from across town near the Mt Dore visitor center (looking in the southeast direction high up above the trees on the cliffs).

Mt-Dore_037_20120511 - View towards the massif of the Puy de Sancy from an overlook well above the Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore
View towards the massif of the Puy de Sancy from an overlook well above the Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore

Given its relatively light-flowing nature, I believe the falls would diminish rapidly when the snowmelt from the plateau above would have depleted.

Thus, I’d imagine that Spring and early Summer would be the seasons to see this waterfall flow.

However, even when the waterfall wouldn’t be flowing, the gorgeous views from above the falls would still be worth the effort (as you can see in the photo above).

Hiking up to la Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore from town

To access the Grande Cascade du Mont-Dore, I was able to walk from our accommodation in the town of Mt Dore and ascend le chemin de La Grande Cascade.

This path was a combination of sharing the road with cars as well as hiker-only trails.

Mt-Dore_018_20120511 - This was where the trail left the local road and ascended steeply up to the Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore
This was where the trail left the local road and ascended steeply up to the Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore

The visitor center and some accommodations in town had local maps that I was able to use to make it easier to find the correct path to walk.

The trail ascended over several long switchbacks before reaching the base of the Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore, which was fronted by a footbridge (as shown in the photo at the top of this page).

It took me about 20 minutes of fast hiking to get from the start of the trail leaving the road to get here.

At a more leisurely pace and including the time it took to walk through town and up some roads to finally get to the actual chemin de La Grande Cascade, I’d say it was about 45 minutes to an hour going up.

Officially, it’s said to be 90 minutes round trip.

Hiking up beyond la Grande Cascade du Mt-Dore

Mt-Dore_036_20120511 - Looking down at Le Mt-Dore, the town
Looking down at Le Mt-Dore, the town

Although the footbridge at the falls can be the turnaround point, I highly recommend continuing on.

I continued past the footbridge, up some steps, and then I walked along a trail-of-use further up the plateau.

I ultimately stopped when I was high enough to look all the way across the valley containing Le Mont-Dore below with the Sancy Massif all the way to my left as I faced town.

It was one of the more inspiring views to be had in this region and one of the more surprising benefits of waterfalling in an area normally popular for skiing in Winter.

Authorities

La Grande Cascade du Mont-Dore resides in the town of Le Mont-Dore in the Puy de Dome department of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes province of France. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their tourism board website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: dore, mont-dore, auvergne, puy de dome, clermont-ferrand, central france, france, waterfall, massif



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.