Auvergne Lakes Tour: Pavin, Chambon, Aydat

Four days from lake to lake in the Massif Central, where each body of water tells a different volcanic story. The route links Lac Pavin, a perfectly circular maar formed by an explosion around seven thousand years ago, the youngest volcano in mainland France and the deepest lake in Auvergne at ninety-two metres, Lac Chauvet isolated in its beech wood, Lac Chambon dammed by a lava flow and overlooked by the castle of Murol, Lac d'Aydat, the region's largest natural lake, also dammed by a flow, then Lac de Guery, the highest in Auvergne at 1,244 metres, facing the Tuiliere and Sanadoire rocks, and finally Lac Serviere. The lake circuits are easy, one to two hours each, and combine into short loops.