Mazaye combines hiking with distinctive geological and artisanal features. The village lies at the foot of the Puy de Côme, west of the Chaîne des Puys. A hiking stage, the Cheire de Côme and saffron cultivation offer different starting points for planning your trip. The routes can be distinguished by their layout; the geological and culinary themes offer different focal points. This lets you decide whether to devote your time mainly to a longer hike, a closer look at the landscape or a guided visit.
Hiking: Stage or Circular Route
The Boucle des Dômes passes through Mazaye. A moderately difficult stage runs from Mazaye to Laschamps and covers 19.6 kilometres, with a stated duration of seven hours and 30 minutes. It therefore takes up a large part of the day. Its distance, difficulty and duration give you a concrete basis for deciding whether to include this stage in your plans.
The Saint-Pierre-le-Chastel circular hike follows a different route: it passes through Mazayes-Basses and returns to its starting point. The two paths therefore differ in their layout from the outset. The Boucle des Dômes stage ends in Laschamps, while the Saint-Pierre-le-Chastel hike forms a loop. If starting and ending at the same point matters to you, this distinction is more useful when choosing than simply comparing route names.
The Cheire de Côme and Its Layers
Mazaye lies west of the Chaîne des Puys at the foot of the Puy de Côme. The landscape includes the Cheire de Côme, a basalt formation of considerable size: it is nine kilometres long, two to three kilometres wide and up to 130 metres thick. These figures convey its scale, while its structure reveals another distinctive feature: eight basalt lava flows lie on top of one another, with layers of scoria in between. The Cheire is therefore not simply one uniform layer, but is made up of several stacked flows.
If you are interested in landscapes and geological formations, this structure offers a closer look at the composition of the Cheire. The “pierre signée” also stands out in the heart of the Cheire de Côme. Together, these features point to two different aspects of the area: its extent on the one hand, and a named landmark within the formation on the other.
Building Stone, Lava and Local Materials
Mazaye is known for its local production of building stone. There is also a workshop for enamelling lava. These two details relate to different materials and working methods: building stone on the one hand, lava enamel on the other. They offer a different way to explore the area's cultural side than the hiking trails or landscape features. The “pierre signée” in the heart of the Cheire is another local point of interest. Building-stone production, lava enamelling and this feature are distinct themes; they should not be understood as one combined visitor programme.
Organic Saffron and a Guided Visit
Safran des Volcans has been producing organic saffron in Mazaye since 2012, in the Parc des Volcans and the UNESCO-listed Chaîne des Puys area. Its offerings include a guided tour of the saffron cultivation, lasting one and a half to two hours. This duration is easy to distinguish from the long hiking stage: the tour is a separate activity, while the Boucle des Dômes stage takes up a large part of the day.
Safran des Volcans also offers a tasting of saffron products. The tour and the tasting are two separate offerings; the tasting is not listed as part of the tour. This lets you include saffron cultivation as a distinct focus in your travel plans, alongside hiking, landscape and the local connections to building stone and lava.
Discover more destinations: Landogne, Sayat, Thônes, Saint-Sylvestre-Pragoulin, Saint-Jean-D'heurs, Gelles, Laqueuille, Cros
For the broader travel overview: Puy-De-Dôme.
