Discover Enval: village paths, gorges and cultural heritage

Enval offers a range of ways to explore: paths through the old village and routes that focus on the gorges, the stream or the views. For planning your trip, distance is a useful guide. The “Trésors cachés d’Enval” walk is about 2.5 km long, the Sentier de l’APAGE is 5 km, and the Promenade de la Coulée verte runs for more than 10 km to Riom. This lets you tailor your itinerary to village history and scenery by route length and theme.

Village history on walking routes

The “Trésors cachés d’Enval” walk follows the village streets and takes you to 13 distinctive places marked with descriptive panels. Starting in the village centre, bronze markers in the ground point the way through the gorges, Lauriat and La Sauzède. The route thus links village streets, named stops and clearly visible waymarkers; the panels describe each place along the walk.

Another discovery walk through the old village takes in, among other things, gorges, crosses, fountains and cellars. The winemakers’ houses on Rue des Gorges and Rue de l’Ambène are also traces of local architectural heritage that you can discover in Enval. For a stay focused on village history, the walks and the houses on these two streets offer different perspectives: a series of described sites here, individual buildings within the streetscape there.

Gorges, stream and longer routes

At the Gorges d’Enval, installations allow you to cross the mountain stream and reach the “Bout du Monde” waterfall. The shaded Sentier de l’APAGE is 5 km long, overlooks the waterfall and then follows the Ambène. The Promenade de la Coulée verte also follows the Ambène stream, but connects Enval with Riom via Mozac and extends for more than 10 km. Unlike a walk through the village streets, this route is oriented around the link between Enval, Mozac and Riom.

The routes therefore differ not only in length, but also in the landscape features described: at the Gorges, the focus is on the mountain stream and access to the waterfall; on the Sentier de l’APAGE, it is the shaded route above the waterfall and along the Ambène. The Coulée verte is a longer route extending as far as Riom. This information can help you choose a route based on what you want to focus on, without assuming that one route follows the same course as another.

Scenery and views

The Gorges d’Enval are classified as a ZNIEFF, a natural area of ecological, faunal and floral interest. The “Les gorges d’Enval – Les balades de Léa et Tino” route offers a different perspective on the landscape. It climbs uphill beneath oak and chestnut trees to a viewpoint overlooking Enval, Riom and the Limagne plain. The climb and panorama offer a different focus from the village stops or the paths along the stream.

The iron-rich Marie spring was discovered in the 18th century and subsequently used for its therapeutic properties. If you would like to include the spring in your plans, check current access locally.

Church and local architecture

The Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste is a neo-Gothic building with 19th-century stained-glass windows. Guided tours of the church are available in Enval year-round by prior arrangement. If you plan a guided tour, confirm the date before your trip. Together with the winemakers’ houses and village paths, it offers a cultural focus distinct from the longer routes along the Ambène and the viewpoints.

Discover more destinations: Doré-L'église, Besse-Et-Saint-Anastaise, Mazaye, Sayat, Teilhet, Mons, Olby, Cunlhat.

Go to the main travel overview: Puy-De-Dôme.