Contact:
Maison de la Maurienne
Syndicat du Pays de Maurienne
Centre d'Affaire et de Ressource
Batiment B 1er étage
Avenue d'Italie, BP 82
73303 St Jean de Maurienne Cedex
Tel. 04 79 83 23 94
E-mail : comite@arcalpin.com
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| St-Colomban des
Villards - The tour of the hamlets |
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Flourishing at the turn of the century,
then depopulated by the rural exodus, the valley shows a succession
of hamlets and villages, some of which are deserted today. All
are full of charm and can be visited as you go along an attractive
route alternating wide trails and single tracks. The wild fauna
and the herds, the many species of trees, pastures and flowers
enhance this lively and romantic discovery of the mountain.
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Difficulty
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If the route can be done from any of the hamlets, starting from
Le Martinan offers a good compromise between views and warming
up !
The "Entre la ville" balcony path passes under the dam and leads
to Les Roches where you can see the first of the Notre Dame chapels
: Notre Dame de la Pitié. Then follows Notre Dame des Neiges,
in Valmaure.
On the other side of the stream, Les Moulins. In La Chal, do not
miss the wrought iron gate (historical monument) on Chapelle St-Roch.
Le Chatelet, Nantchenu and a narrow "trial" passage near the abandoned
village of Bon Mollard. A surprising bridge, built 100 years ago
and lost in the forest, links to the hamlet of Le Rivaud, also
abandoned !
Le Planchamp and Le Frêne lead to St-Alban, and a climb along
a balcony path. From Chemin de l'eau, the view extends towards
Col de la Madeleine and Mont-Blanc. A ford and another technical
descent and you are back in Le Martinan !
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A43 motorway, exit N°26 (Ste Marie de Cuines)
or RN 6, then turn towards Vallée des Villards, and Col du Glandon
via D 927.
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- 14 km (one-way) ascent 350m
- Varied but accessible to all, a little bike-carrying
- Paths and forest trails
- IGN map top 25 3433
- May to October
- Gear hire Sport 2000 in St-Colomban des Villards.
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