Orliaguet offers a varied landscape with diverse terrain and views stretching from the Monts d’Auvergne to the Dordogne Valley. Wooded hills and valleys shape the natural surroundings. Alongside this landscape, the Church of Saint-Étienne d’Orliaguet and prehistoric remains are among the defining features of the area.

Hiking Trails and the Boucle d’Orliaguet

Numerous hiking trails cross wooded hills and valleys. One clearly defined circular route is the Boucle d’Orliaguet: it starts in Orliaguet, is 14.4 kilometres long and is rated difficult. Along the way, it passes, among other places, a viewpoint overlooking the Dordogne Valley. When planning your hike, it is worth treating the Boucle as a hiking destination in its own right.

The viewpoint overlooking the Dordogne Valley is part of the Boucle; by contrast, the views from the Monts d’Auvergne to the Dordogne describe Orliaguet’s landscape as a whole. This distinguishes the specific destination on a circular route from the area’s broader landscape.

The topoguide showing the Boucle route is available from the tourist offices in Carlux and Salignac. As availability may change, it is best to check with them before your hike. This lets you take the route into account when planning, along with its distance and difficulty rating.

Religious Art at Saint-Étienne

The Church of Saint-Étienne d’Orliaguet has a remarkable, colourful altarpiece dating from the 17th century. It also houses a well-preserved statue of the Virgin and Child. This polychrome wooden sculpture dates from the 18th century and was registered as a protected object on 1 March 1973.

Polychrome means multicoloured. In the case of the statue, wood and paint describe its material and colourful finish; its subject, state of preservation and protected status are further distinguishing features. The altarpiece, with its colourful design, offers a different emphasis. Together, two works from successive centuries represent different aspects of religious furnishings.

Polissoir and Dolmen

The Orliaguet polissoir lies in an oak and chestnut forest on the slope of a pech. It is one of the numerous iron-rich sandstone blocks on the slopes of the area. The forest and hillside describe the landscape setting, while iron-rich sandstone describes the material.

The dolmen at Plaine de Malcepiot is a prehistoric megalithic structure made up of three large upright stones. They are aligned from east to west. Two are limestone, while the larger third stone is sandstone. The alignment describes the structure as a whole; the material details distinguish the individual stones.

For the dolmen, the focus is on the number, alignment and types of rock, while for the polissoir it is on the hillside setting, forest and iron-rich sandstone blocks. The two prehistoric remains thus differ both in form and in their relationship to the landscape.

Discover more destinations: Gavaudun, Siorac-En-Périgord, Le Fleix, Étouars, Vergt, Badefols-D'ans, Mauzens-Et-Miremont, Grignols.

For the main travel guide: Dordogne.