UPCOMING DEPARTURES
More than a hike — an Adventure!
There is the journey you can see: the dust, the effort, the beauty of Normandy and the vastness of the Bay.
And then there is the unseen journey. The one that opens up when the phone goes off, thoughts stretch out and silence settles in.
Whether you are a believer, an atheist, spiritual, or simply someone who loves wide-open spaces, Le Sentier offers you the same promise: to leave clock time behind and rediscover the time of nature.
You come to walk. You leave with far more than memories!
100 KILOMETRES
Four days on foot, from Champsecret to La Merveille — the Wonder — along the historic pilgrimage route to Mont-Saint-Michel. Open to walkers aged 10 and over.
The Companions
Walking together means never facing the effort alone. Several Companions accompany you with kindness and quiet attentiveness throughout the five-day adventure: four days of walking and a morning on Mont-Saint-Michel.
LA MERVEILLE — THE WONDER
Step away from the virtual world and reconnect with what matters. An inward journey, at the rhythm of your footsteps, to rediscover the beauty of the world.
Four Days to Know Yourself
DAY 1: CHAMPSECRET – LONLAY-L’ABBAYE
Day 1: 21 km
Elevation gain: 310 m – Elevation loss: 381 m
Departure: 09:00, Champsecret
“Open your eyes, Pierre…
Open your eyes and look at the world!
Water runs down my forehead; Arthur’s voice echoes through the church.
My muscles burn, my joints crack.
Domfront, the land of the first crossing.
I kneel on one knee,
Notre-Dame-sous-l’Eau, the place of birth…”
Le Hors-d’Œuvre
La Porte Mystérieuse du Mont-Saint-Michel – Bertrand Leroy (translated excerpt)
DAY 2: LONLAY-L’ABBAYE – MORTAIN
Day 2: 32 km
Elevation gain: 574 m – Elevation loss: 492 m
Departure: 08:00, Lonlay-l’Abbaye
“Close your eyes… Close your eyes, Pierre, and look within yourself!
The steam chamber of the devil’s forest closes around me; the fire in my body consumes my thoughts.
Will this climb never end? The higher I climb, the deeper I descend into myself. The more I humble myself, the higher I rise…
When everything falls apart, what remains? Far away, on the horizon, a silhouette takes shape: Mont-Saint-Michel.
The Light in my crucible…”
L’Œuvre au Noir
La Porte Mystérieuse du Mont-Saint-Michel – Bertrand Leroy (translated excerpt)
DAY 3: MORTAIN – ISIGNY-LE-BUAT
Day 3: 22 km
Elevation gain: 141 m – Elevation loss: 282 m
Departure: 09:00, Mortain
“An endless straight line. Thousands of steps to arrive where? Who is Pierre?
The urge to escape this railway line, to step off the tracks of my existence.
Birth, childhood, adolescence, work, retirement, death. Is there no other line to draw, no other life to live?
My thoughts stretch out before me, behind me: past, future. Tears flow… Presence.”
L’Œuvre au Blanc
La Porte Mystérieuse du Mont-Saint-Michel – Bertrand Leroy (translated excerpt)
DAY 4: ISIGNY-LE-BUAT – MONT-SAINT-MICHEL
Day 4: 28 km
Elevation gain: 144 m – Elevation loss: 202 m
Departure according to the tide, between 05:00 and 09:00, Isigny-le-Buat
“After the fire of the earth, after the water of the sky, a new day dawns.
Notre-Dame-sous-Terre: Mont-Saint-Michel rises before me, majestic, motionless, a thousand years old, at the heart of this bay swept by winds and tides.
Rebirth.
My spirit escapes into the vastness, beyond the paths.
The marriage of water and fire, feet on the rock, eyes turned towards the sky, and a heart at peace.
I am a man, where the elements meet…”
L’Œuvre au Rouge
La Porte Mystérieuse du Mont-Saint-Michel – Bertrand Leroy (translated excerpt)
THE SPIRIT OF LE SENTIER
A shared adventure built on mutual support
Since 2014, we have never walked alone. With more than 6,500 walkers accompanied, the association has become an established institution. Today, Le Sentier is led through shared governance by 12 Archicompagnons and supported by dozens of volunteers. We are a secular organisation, recognised in France as acting in the public interest and affiliated with the Fédération Sportive et Culturelle de France.
THE ORIGINS OF LE SENTIER
An eternal quest, between Earth and Sky, on the path to Paradise…
The adventure began with a book, La Porte Mystérieuse du Mont-Saint-Michel, the founder’s tale of initiation. Today, that quest continues in a second book, Le Compagnon du Sentier, and in a graphic novel. Discover the works that have inspired thousands of walkers to take to the road.
LES COMPAGNONS DU SENTIER
A French non-profit association under the Law of 1901
Recognised in France as acting in the public interest – Affiliated with the FSCF
Travel agency licence, France: IM061210001
Registered office:
Secret Knight
3 rue du Colonel Lefèvre, 61700 Champsecret, France
Email: contact@lesentier.org
Phone: +33 6 33 39 02 20