Tour de la Vanoise: trekking in the Vanoise National Park

ByTravesía Pirenaica
Tour de la Vanoise, Parc National de la Vanoise / Photo: Romaric Juvanon [CC BY-SA 4.0] Wikimedia Commons
Tour de la Vanoise, Parc National de la Vanoise / Photo: Romaric Juvanon [CC BY-SA 4.0] Wikimedia Commons

The Vanoise National Park is one of France's finest mountain regions and its tour is a perfect introduction to alpine hiking. A paradise surrounded by 3,000 metre high mountains, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls and flower-filled meadows.

The Tour de la Vanoise is a 10 to 12 day alpine trekking tour through the park, covering 150 km while camping or staying in mountain huts and cabins.

Index

Practical guide

When to go?

Mid-June to mid-September with possible early season snowfall.

Cities & Services

Access via Chambéry and Genoble; Modane, Termignon, Bessans, Bonneval, all in the Maurienne valley, Val D'Isère, Tignes, Prolognan.

Difficulty and tips

The Tour de la Vanoise runs in a high mountain environment. No technical knowledge is required, however, there are some very short exposed sections, generally protected by a fixed cable handrail, which could be disconcerting for unaccustomed hikers, and in such cases extra caution may be necessary.

Not to be missed

  • The peaks of the border.
  • The Haute Vanoise near the Grand Casse
  • The fauna and flora in the Vanoise National Park.

Stages

The stages of the Tour de la Vanoise are counter-clockwise, starting and finishing in Modane in the Arc valley. The 150km duration is divided into 11 days, although this is not to say that this is the only way to do the Tour de la Vanoise, as overnight options allow for other trekking layouts.

Starting at Modane en Maurienne (the valley of the Arc), the Tour of the Vanoise goes anticlockwise, and as far as Tignes-le-Lac (stage 8) follows the course of the GR5. The GR55 joins the national park southeast of Tignes-le-Lac.

  • Stage 1 Modane a Refuge de l'Orgère
  • Stage 2 Refuge de l'Orgère to Refuge de Plan Sec
  • Stage 3 Refuge de Plan Sec to Refuge de l'Arpont
  • Stage 4 Refuge de l'Arpont to Refuge du Plan du Lac
  • Stage 5 Refuge du Plan du Lac to Refuge du Vallonbrun
  • Stage 6 Refuge du Vallonbrun to Bonneval-sur-Arc
  • Stage 7 Bonneval-sur-Arc to Val d'Isère
  • Stage 8 Val d'Isère to Refuge de la Leisse
  • Stage 9 Refuge de la Leisse in Pralognan-la-Vanoise
  • Alternative Stage 9 Refuge de la Leisse to Refuge d'Entre-Deux-Eaux and Refuge de la Femma
  • Stage 10 Pralognan-la-Vanoise to Refuge de Péclet-Polset
  • Stage 11 Refuge from Péclet-Polset to Modane

Other routes in La Vanoise

  • Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise
  • Tour de la Grande Casse
  • Tour of Méan Martin and du Grand Roc Noir
  • Traverse de la Vanoise