Les Lamas de Salagine offers guided visits to its llama farm in Bloye. Other topics include walks along the paths of the Étangs de Crosagny and the history of the Moulin de Crosagny. These offer different points of interest: a close encounter with animals, a route with named stops by the water, and the history of a water-powered mill. When planning your trip, it helps to consider which of these interests you most.
Llamas: Visit and Walk
On a guided visit, you can get close to the llamas, pet them, and brush them. This makes a visit to the farm a direct encounter with the animals. Walks with llamas along the paths of the Étangs de Crosagny are also offered. The activities differ in setting: the visit focuses on the farm in Bloye, while the paths of the Étangs provide the setting for the walk. Both involve animals, but the focus shifts from a farm visit to a walk.
A Path by the Étang de Crosagny
An educational path along the Étang de Crosagny leads to a footbridge on the south shore and an observation platform on the west shore. The two stops are therefore on different sides of the shore: the footbridge marks the south of the Étang, and the observation platform its west. If you like to orient yourself by named stops, you can follow the path using these two points. Unlike the llama walk, the focus here is the path by the water and the two stops along the shore.
Water Power at the Moulin de Crosagny
The Moulin de Crosagny was powered by water. Part of the water from the Deisse—sometimes also spelled Deysse—was channelled through an artificial channel called the “bief.” The water wheel drove two millstones: one ground the wheat; the other, called the “moulin blanc,” refined the flour. The term “bief” refers to the artificial channel, not the Deisse, part of whose water was channelled through it. This makes the mill’s operation clear in concrete steps: water set the wheel in motion, and the two stones performed different tasks in processing wheat into flour.
The Mill and the Étang: Two Historical Developments
At the beginning of the 20th century, people from Marigny-Saint-Marcel, Albens, and Bloye brought their grain to the Moulin de Crosagny to have it milled. Restoration of the natural environment at the Étang de Crosagny took place during the winters of 1991–1992 and 1992–1993; a footbridge, an observation platform, and a discovery trail were also set up there. The contrast shows two different historical contexts: the use of the mill for grinding grain and the later restoration of the Étang, with new stops and a trail.
Things to Consider When Planning Your Trip
The llama activities combine a guided visit or a walk with contact with the animals. At the Étang, the focus is on a path and two stops along the shore; the mill tells the story of water power and flour production. You can plan your trip to Bloye around the experiences that interest you most.
Discover more destinations: Faverges, Cruseilles, La Balme-De-Sillingy, La Rivière-Enverse, Marin, Épagny, Étrembières, Le Praz De Lys
View the broader travel guide: Haute-Savoie.
