Chaîne des Puys

February 2022 - after a long drive from Chauvet we arrived late at night and parked our camper at a local tourist office. The next morning the Landscape was covered slighlty in snow. We drove to the valley station of Chaine de Puy and my daughter and me took the train on to the top. The volcanic snow-covered landscape was just gorgeous from up here. We could als spot the black Notre Dame du Port built from local volcanic stone. On top we still took the chance to get our hands into the snow. As it was colder than anticipated, took the trainride right down again.

The visit in winter is definitely special and to recommend. We continued our drive to Vichy after that.

I visited this WHS towards the end of June 2019 on a very hot and sunny day. Originally I had already planned to visit almost two years ago, prior to inscription, and I had already bought my Puy de Dome return train ticket online (valid for 2 yrs and getting more expensive every year!). However, after postponing my road trip several times, I decided to visit as a convenient stopover before heading to the Frejus border between France and Italy.

Although the train departures are officially every 20 minutes during the summer season, when we visited departures were only taking place every hour, officially due to the high temperatures. The fact that there's only one small train going up and down the Puy all the time, means that more often than not, the official timetable might not be followed to reduce the possibility of the train breaking down. So keep this in mind when you plan your visit.

The Puy de Dome is a pelean volcano, a specific term used to describe energetic eruptions similar to those of the Pelee mountain in Martinique. The volcano is characterised by the lack of a proper crater. The lava builds up underneath the dome and the subsequent explosions typically cause glowing clouds. If you have more time available, the hike to the Puy de Come (1253m) and the Puy de Pariou (1209m) are worth doing but it won't provide any further interesting panoramic viewpoints. The latter is a strombolian volcano which …

France has twice succeeded in turning a "not to inscribe" recommendation by IUCN into a referral (in 2014 and 2016). Both IUCN evaluations were harsh, but clear, the main objection was that „the integrity of the property in relation to its natural values is compromised by the long standing and on-going impacts of human use, which result in a landscape that is fundamentally not 'natural'” (cited from the IUCN evaluation 2014). But now, on the third attempt in 2018, all concerns are miraculously dispelled and IUCN recommends inscription, thus a safe bet at the WHC. Two active quarries have been removed from the nominated area, but apart from that, the boundaries have not changed in comparison to 2014. Now the focus is on criterion viii (outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history), criterion vii (superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance) has been withdrawn. Apparently that was enough to convince IUCN.

I visited the site in June 2013, it was the last step of a trip to Southern France. I have to say, I was surprised that it was nominated solely on basis of natural criteria. For a natural WHS it is a quite densely populated area. The human impact on the landscape is obvious: grazing sheep, active quarries, the huge antenna on the Puy de Dôme (already mentioned by Els), even a golf course. Well, there are more than 80 volcanoes (puys) in an area of about 30 km length and 4 …

After two Referrals in 2014 and 2016 respectively, France will try once again to get the Tectono-volcanic ensemble of the Chaîne des Puys and Limagne Fault enlisted – probably already next year. It’s a natural site that covers a string of 80 dormant volcanoes and a parallel geological structure to the west that shows inverted relief.

When I prepared for this trip, I opted to visit the Gour de Tazenat – an almost perfectly round crater lake or “mare”. But when my rental car plans fell through, I had to find a way into the core zone of the Chaîne des Puys by public transport. Fortunately, its main landmark, the Puy de Dôme, lies just 15km west of the city of Clermont-Ferrand and I was able to catch a shuttle bus between Clermont-Ferrand and the Dôme Railway Station on the last day of the season.

The Puy de Dôme itself nowadays can only be accessed via the Panoramique des Dômes, a panoramic rack railway that covers the final km to the top. A return trip costs 12.30 EUR (in low season), though you can save a bit by riding up and walking down which supposedly takes some 50 minutes. At 10 a.m. I, unfortunately, found the Puy covered in the clouds. A temperature of -1 degrees Celsius was displayed at the departure station. Apparently, it’s best to sit to the left on the train (for the better views), but it didn’t matter much this day as nothing was …

I visited the Chaîne des Puys during a trip along the enchanting Dordogne. We drove up the highest peak of the chain, the Puy de Dôme. From there you have a fabulous view over the whole chain that is quite impressive. There are dozens of vulcanos of different shapes: domes, maars and cones like the wonderful Puy Pariou. They are not very tall volcanic formations but I have never seen so many in such a small area.