The Montorient Loop

1. Cross the footbridge over the Sorne and head towards the village center.
2. At "Courbouzon", take the road to the right, climb Montorient street (restored washhouse) and leave the village.
3. At the signpost "Le Poirier", go up to the right along the hillside path. It leads to the ridge of "Grand Champ" (view over the Sorne valley). At the top, turn left, cross the meadow, continue along the path and reach "Le Gouillat". > Short variant (easy level, 2 h 30, 6 km, 200 m elevation): at the "Le Gouillat" signpost, continue straight ahead and begin the "Côte de Montorient". Pass "Le Trou du Renard" and climb to Montorient. After the farm, descend to the left at the "Mont Orient" signpost.
4. Turn right and stay on the main path towards "Gevingey Mairie". Take Château street on the left and Foulatière street on the left. At "La Carrière", continue straight, then turn left. The track climbs in two wide hairpin bends and reaches "La Côte".
5. Continue along the track. It descends towards Géruge. Take the left street, then the right street, then Chapelle street on the left ("Geruge Chapelle"). After the chapel, continue straight along the main street. Take Montorient road on the left for 300 m, then the path on the right. It leads to the "Mont Orient" signpost (viewpoint over the Lédonien basin). > To the left, access to the Montorient farm (farm restored by the Friends of Mont Orientais).
6. Descend to the right, follow the fence of the meadow for 30 m, then go down the path to the left into the acacia and ash wood (> follow the marking well!) for 1.6 km.
7. At the intersection overlooking a pasture, turn left towards the bottom of the Goujon valley for 200 m, cross the small bridge and return to Courbouzon. Pass the first house (on the bridge, turn around to see the waterfall), then return to the parking lot.

H E R I T A G E

The Tower of Orient

The Romans chose the site of Montorient to monitor the region and the road starting from Lédo (Lons-le-Saunier), climbing Mont Coelius (Montciel), descending to Messia, passing through Gevingey… to reach Lyon. They built a tower that overlooked the Bresse and was visible to the east, hence its name: the Tower of Orient. It served as a lookout and communicated by fires with neighboring towers.

In the Middle Ages, Montorient was a fief under the lordship of Saint-Laurent-La-Roche. A fountain, called

“Merovingian washhouse”, hidden under a vault, provided the water supply. The square tower had a terraced vault at its top meant to place a fire. It was located on the mound surrounded by ditches, near the cistern.