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Wise Pilgrim APPNoailhac is a small hamlet about 8 km from Conques on the GR6 variant, the route most pilgrims prefer because it avoids 5 km of departmental road on the official GR65. There's a gite d'etape in an old farmhouse where communal dinners are available, and a bar-restaurant with an expansive view over the surrounding hills. If you're doing the Conques-to-Livinhac stage in one go, this is a good place to rest and refuel before the longer stretch ahead.
From Conques, the path descends Rue Charlemagne, passes through the Porte du Barry, and crosses the 15th-century stone bridge over the Dourdou river. Then the climbing begins. You'll gain about 200 m on a steep, rocky footpath through lush vegetation in the first kilometer alone. The old saying captures it well: the descent into Conques is perilous and the climb out is painful.
At the Chapelle Sainte-Foy, where legend says a spring appeared after a monk struck the rock with his staff, the gradient eases. You'll reach the fork where the GR65 continues along the road and the GR6 variant heads right through forest and pasture. The variant is 2 km longer but far more pleasant. The two routes rejoin at Fonteilles after about 8.5 km.
