Not the Waterfalls We Were Looking For

14/04/2025

The day started with a blanket of fog over the lake, it was a strangely blue fog, giving us some hope that it was only a thin layer of fog with blue skies above. We’d planned a route over the Jura mountains with stops at a couple of waterfalls along the route. Fog might stop us seeing some of the views but it would have to be pretty thick to stop us seeing the waterfalls from up close. With fingers crossed we set off.

Heading into the Jura

We popped our first destination into the satnav. It was only after we joined the toll road that we realised  Google Maps was not taking us the way we expected. Despite being sure we’d updated it to No Tolls a few days previously we found ourselves merging onto the peage.

It wasn’t long before we were off the paid roads though. Even the most determined sat nav wouldn’t be able to take us all the way to our destination on toll roads. We wound our way along mountain roads with occasional glimpses of mountains and valleys. The fog added to the atmosphere.

Cascades du Hérrison

As we approached our destination I spotted a sign for one of the other waterfalls we’d thought about visiting. The Cascades du Hérrison. I directed Paul to take the next turning but we soon changed our mind when we saw a height restriction. Never mind, we still had our original destination.

Further along the road we saw another sign for the Cascades du Hérrison leading us onto the D39. This time there was a car park right next to the road, Parking Saut-Girard. We pulled off quickly and parked up at the top of the sloping car park to take a look.

The notice next to the footpath offered a walk alongside several waterfalls on the Hérrison river or a viewpoint above the first cascade. We decided to follow the path and headed off to the first waterfall – the Saut Girard. We obviously were not seeing this waterfall at it’s best. The fact there is a viewpoint from the road indicates a spectacle, but the waterfall itself was not as interesting as the bubbling spring waters rising from cracks in the rocks and a statue of a dog (or maybe a cat?) which still mystifies us despite some internet research.

Statue at the bottom of the Saut Girard

From here the path passed by an old mill, now a cafe, and took us further through an attractive woodland with sun dappling the ground. We ventured on, following the gurgling stream, and found more small cascades. The limestone rock had been eroded into wide bowls with waterfalls stepping down through the rock. At one point the ruin of an old mill sits next to a wide pool. As we descended we encountered more people, families enjoying a day out for the school holidays.

The path got steeper and narrower as we got lower. We spent a lot of time waiting for people to pass at the narrowest points. People we passed had glowing faces and were slightly breathless from their walk uphill. The last couple of waterfalls were a lot higher. Le Grand Saut waterfall drops down 60m into a deep gorge, the view from the top of the waterfall was impressive and when we got part way down the steps to the bottom of the gorge there was another viewpoint. A small path that allows people to walk behind the waterfall would have required us to vault the fencing. We decided not to try, it was obviously being discouraged.  Finally we got to the Cascade de l’Eventail that spreads out in a fan across the cliff, the highest of the waterfalls.

L’eventail cascading over the rocks

At the bottom of the path a visitor centre provided some information and a gift shop. More importantly a snack bar offered refreshments. It hadn’t been a long walk but we’d spent a while gawping at waterfalls and rock formations and navigating around other people and now we were thirsty and needed a snack to provide us with the energy to retrace our steps..

We may not have seen the waterfalls at their best but it had been an interesting walk and we were glad we’d diverted to investigate it. The other waterfalls we’d been aiming for would have to wait for a return visit.