Sails of Landeyron, Hiking trail and waterfall in Montréal-la-Cluse, France
The Voiles du Landeyron is a hiking trail and waterfall site in Montréal-la-Cluse, in the Ain department of eastern France. The path follows an old water channel called the bief du Landeyron, passing a series of rock pools carved out by falling water over centuries.
The land around the bief du Landeyron has been used by local people for a long time, for farming and drawing water from the channel. The rock pools along the path formed gradually as water carved into the stone over many generations.
The name Voiles du Landeyron comes from a winter phenomenon: when temperatures drop low enough, one of the waterfalls freezes into a thin sheet of ice that looks like a veil hanging in the air. Visitors who come in winter may catch this sight, though it depends entirely on the cold.
The trail starts from the Pont du Landeyron in Montréal-la-Cluse and follows a marked path through the forest that takes roughly two and a half hours to complete. It is free and open year round, but good walking shoes are helpful since the ground near the water can be slippery.
The rounded rock pools along the stream, called marmites, were not carved by hand but by swirling water that spun pebbles in circles, slowly drilling into the stone. If you look closely at the edges of these pools, you can sometimes still spot small stones left behind by this process.
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