The 150km Tour of the Vanoise circuit of the national park is a fantastic hut-to-hut journey through the heart of one of France’s finest mountain regions and a perfect introduction to Alpine trekking. The circuit explores the very best of the Vanoise National Park – a wonderland of 3000m peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls and meadows full of flowers – allowing the inquisitive walker plenty of opportunities to study marmot, chamois and ibex along the way.
Describing the Tour of the Vanoise in a counter-clockwise direction, beginning and ending at Modane in the valley of the Arc, this guidebook contains all the information trekkers will need on a day-by-day basis. As the 150km route takes between 10 and 12 days to walk, it fits comfortably within a fortnight’s holiday, and numerous strategically placed huts enable trekkers to travel light and stay in simple comfort at the end of each stage.
Although the route is described in 11 stages, each of which equates to a days walking of unequal length, it is not to say that this is the only way to trek the Tour of the Vanoise. It would be possible to complete the tour in 10 days, while longer options are feasible in order to visit outlying or neighbouring valleys. Since several overnight possibilities exist on a number of stages, it would be possible to devise a variety of itineraries to suit the ambition, inclination and time available of each trekker.
Beginning at Modane in the Maurienne (the valley of l’Arc), the Tour of the Vanoise is tackled in a counter-clockwise direction, and as far as Tignes-le-Lac (stage 8) it follows the course of the GR5. The GR55 is then joined at the national park southeast of Tignes-le-Lac.
Although the route described in this guidebook makes a multi-day journey through a high Alpine environment, no technical skills are demanded of the trekker tackling the Tour of the Vanoise. However, there are a few very brief exposed sections, usually safeguarded with a fixed cable handrail, that could be unnerving for walkers unused to precipitous drops, and in such instances extra caution may be required.