The path soon leads you to the Nant du Pontet and the murmur of its waters makes you forget the nearby town.
You can feel the dampness of the droplets thrown up by the current as it bounces from rock to waterfall, stopping in a giant cauldron before setting off again on its assault on a canyon.
To allow you to admire all these marvels, the trail follows the watercourse, taking wooden steps, a footbridge and a stone bridge, sheltered by undergrowth. Occasionally, it emerges from the undergrowth to offer a view all the way to Lac du Bourget.
Further on, the path leads you through a farming landscape of fields and meadows, punctuated by the Grobelle farm. When you return to the town, the statue of "l'eau-vive" at the end of the route reminds you that a merry torrent flows nearby, in an unsuspected setting.
Discover
- Jacob waterfalls.
- Giant kettles (deep cylindrical ponds dug out by the swirling water in the limestone rock), little canyons (deep gorges with vertical faces) and giant steps (rocky steps where water cascades) are dispersed all along the course of the torrent.
- Jacob-Bellecombette town hall and the statue "L'eau Vive" by sculptor Livio Benedetti.
Interesting titbits
The Nant du Pontet springs at an altitude of 750 m in the foothills of the Chartreuse Mountains, before flowing into the River Hyères 6 km below. The gushing torrent is more spectacular after rain or snow melts.
"Nant" is a regional term for a torrent; along the Nant du Pontet water has dug out a series of basins or ponds. In the 18th century, in one of these giant kettles situated 100 m upstream from the first waterfall, the beautiful Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin and the niece of the Cardinal, used to come here to bathe surrounded by her ladies in waiting. This pond is named "Bain des Nymphes" or "Bath of the Nymphs".
Appreciating the beauty of the place, George Sand set one of the scenes of her novel "Mademoiselle La Quintinie" here.
Since 1963, the"blue stone" used in the making of natural cement is extracted from the Pontet quarries in Montagnole and used in the Chiron de la Revériaz Cement Plant in Chambéry. At first it was transported by oxen and horses, but from 1912 the stone was loaded into wagons of a cogwheel train. In 1924, gondola lifts followed the train before the metro de Montagnole started operating in 1963. This little electric train circulated in a tunnel dug in the rocks between Montagnole and Bellecombette. The Chiron Cement Plant bought in 1980 by the Vicat Group has been decommissioned since 1995.
- Sport
Jacob Waterfalls and La Grobelle
Leave the town behind and plunge into a green and fresh setting by following the small, tumultuous torrent of Le Pontet, which flows from waterfalls to canyons, carving out giant steps and pools in which the nymphs come to bathe!
About
Signs
yellow markings.
Map references
TOP 25 IGN - 3333 OT - Massif de la Chartreuse Nord
Further informations
Stone, Ground, Hard coating (tar, cement, flooring)
Start from the car park of the Grand Pré school.
1/ Go down the rue des écoles and turn left.
At the roundabout, continue straight on the tarmac road then go left and follow the "sentier des cascades" along the Ruisseau du Pontet.
2/ After about ten minutes of walking, at the level of the wooden barrier, you can take the small footbridge to go to the foot of the waterfall.
Then go back on your steps and go up the path following "Sentier des cascades, Boucle supérieure".
Keep to the right and follow the yellow markings.
3/ Turn right at the intersection (stay on the rightmost path) and walk along the barriers.
Go to the waterfall, then retrace your steps and take the steep path up the right-hand side to the steps.
At the top of the steps, turn right and cross the bridge.
Enjoy a break on the bench located at the foot of the waterfall.
4/ Continue on the tarmac road.
Keep to the right and follow the yellow signs (on the large stone wall on the left), then continue on the road which climbs through the housing estate.
5/ At the yellow signs on the left, follow "Sentier des cascades", you will then enjoy a nice view as far as the lake of Bourget.
The path goes on into the underwoods.
At the intersection, take the path on the left (yellow markings) which goes slightly downhill and stop in front of the reading panel which recounts "the adventure of cement" in Jacob.
6/ Continue the descent in the underwoods
Keep to the right. Go along the stream on the left, then turn right to take the path which goes up (yellow markings).
7/ At the end of the underwoods, follow the yellow markings and go down to the hamlet.
8/ Cross the bridge over Le Pontet then go up the tarmac road.
Turn right and follow route de Bellecombette, then cross the departmental road 912 and find the path which goes up on the left near the houses.
9/ After the concrete steps (yellow markings), go down to the right on the tarmac road for about ten metres then follow the sentier des Geais which goes up to the left.
At the villas, leave the road on your left and take the path on the right which runs alongside the meadows.
10/ At the sign "La Basinière Alt 480 m" turn left towards the reservoir and Maisolée then follow the chemin des rossignols and the road to the farm "Gaec Tochon".
Turn left onto the road for 50 m and then slightly right onto the path that leads to the houses. Return to the road, go down to the stairs you took on the way out.
11/ Join the road to Bellecombette.
Pass the bus stop Muses Galantes and go straight on.
From the bus stop stay on the tarmac road that crosses the housing estate and then turn left opposite the "Charlotte de Savoie" residence on the road that goes downhill.
13/ For the return journey, follow the signs and cut the bends through the meadows towards the town.
Prices
Free access.
Reception
We strongly recommend that you keep your dogs on a lead, especially when approaching farms and crossing residential estates.
Period of practice
All year round.
Subject to favorable weather.
- Pets welcome
Contacts
Access
By car: park in the car park of the Grand Pré primary school.
By bus: from Chambéry city centre, take line A (towards Université Jacob) or line 1 (towards Salins) and get off at the "Université Jacob" stop. More information on synchro.grandchambery.fr.
At the bus stop, turn right at the roundabout and follow rue du Corbelet then turn right into rue des Écoles.
- Not accessible in a wheelchair
