Trailounet (trail route no.16)

Fauna

Flora

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A trail that reveals all the beauty of the plain of Vallouise and Pelvoux!

A trail inviting you to discover this unspoilt plain and also the hamlet of Le Grand Parcher. A view over the towering mountain of Les Bans awaits you and invites contemplation! To complete the trail, you follow the banks of the Gyronde and the Onde, breathing in the cool, fresh air.

Description

The route starts outside the Camping Huttopia de Vallouise. Follow signs for the village of Vallouise.

Keep en eye out for the bridge on the right which takes you across the Gyr. After the bridge, take the road on the right.
Head towards the road on the left and go along the edge of the cemetery.
Carry on along the left-hand track. At the end of this track, take the track on the right that runs along the top end of La Casse. Then, go along a single track across the hillside, towards the top of La Champarie. Go along the side of a canal.
At Le Grand Parcher, fork right and go through the hamlet to reach the D994E.
At the stop sign, turn left and then fork right to cross the bridge spanning the Gyronde. After the bridge, head right onto a path that leads to the D4.
When you come to the D4, cross it and continue along the path opposite which leads to the Onde. When you come to the Onde, turn right and then cross the bridge over the river. This brings you back to your starting point.

Departure : Camping Huttopia, Vallouise
Arrival : Camping Huttopia, Vallouise
Towns crossed : Vallouise-Pelvoux

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

Before setting off, it is very important to check the opening periods for this route on the website: https://stationdetrail.com/fr/stations/le-pays-des-ecrins/parcours

Share your photographs on social networks with #stationdetrailecrins

Check weather conditions before setting off.

Rescue services contact details: Secours Montagne (Mountain Rescue): +33 (0)4 92 22 22 22 or 112

Show consideration for the work of farmers, livestock keepers and owners

Close all gates behind you

Take your litter home

Do not take shortcuts across pastureland

The trail routes are also suitable for walking

Information desks

23 Avenue de la République, 05120 L'Argentière-La Bessée

https://www.paysdesecrins.com/contact@paysdesecrins.com +33(0)4 92 23 03 11

Vallouise Park house

, 05290 Vallouise

http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/vallouise@ecrins-parcnational.fr 04 92 23 58 08

Information, documentation, models, exhibitions, screenings, product sales and works of the Park. Guided tours for school, reservation required. The new Park House opened in Vallouise since June 1, and offers visitors an interactive permanent exhibition inviting to explore the area and its heritage. A temporary exhibition space will allow a renewed offer. Finally, the device is completed by an audiovisual room to organize screenings and conferences Free admission. All animations of the Park are free unless otherwise stated.

Find out more

Transport

Public transport >> www.pacamobilite.fr

Consider car-sharing >> www.blablacar.fr

For more information, ask at the Tourist Information Office nearest to the trail starting point.

Access and parking

10 km from L'Argentière-La Bessée, take the D994E.

Parking :

Camping Huttopia car park, Vallouise

Sensitive areas

Along your trek, you will go through sensitive areas related to the presence of a specific species or environment. In these areas, an appropriate behaviour allows to contribute to their preservation. For detailed information, specific forms are accessible for each area.

Short-toed snake eagle

Impacted practices:: Aerial,

Sensitivity periods:: MarAprMayJunJulAugSep

Contact:: Parc National des Écrins
Julien Charron
julien.charron@ecrins-parcnational.fr

Find out more

8 points of interest

Fauna
The black woodpecker
Sporting a black cap, the black woodpecker is the biggest of the woodpecker family. Wary and solitary, it is difficult to spot, but its strident calls give its presence away. It feeds mainly on ants and insects living in dead trees, which it extracts by hammering into the wood. It hollows out a nest hole in trees. Once the young have left the nest, it may be taken over by owls or forest-dwelling bats.
Flora
The violet bird's-nest orchid
In the pine forest undergrowth stands a large, completely purple orchid. It has no leaves, just a few whitish scales on the stem. Lacking chlorophyll (the green plant pigment which plays a role in photosynthesis, the process that allows the production of organic matter), it lives as a parasite on tree roots.
Flora
The Scots pine
A long trunk that is reddish-brown towards the top, sparse foliage, grey-green needles grouped in pairs... It has to be the Scots pine. Happy in poor soil, this softwood tree can withstand below-zero temperatures as well as summer droughts, and so it is very common in intra-alpine valleys with a continental climate, like the Vallouise.
Vernacular heritage
The hamlet of Parcher
The hamlet of Grand Parcher stands on the alluvial cone formed by the Grand Parcher mountain stream, and on either side of it. It is made up of several old houses and the seventeenth-century chapel of Saint-André. It has two sun dials painted onto its walls. One of them bears the saying HORA INCERTA CUNTIS, ULTIMA MULTIS (This hour is uncertain for all, it is the last hour for many). Food for thought!
Water
Thne Gyronde
No, we're not in south-west France where the Gironde flows! The Gyronde (spelt with a «y»!) is the river that flows between Vallouise and L'Argentière-La Bessée, where it flows into the Durance. It originates from the Gyr and Onde mountain streams which merge in Vallouise.
Fauna
The long-tailed tit
Some birds are causing a stir in a tree, constantly coming and going and uttering little calls. They are round and black and pinkish beige in colour with a long tails, hence their name, the long-tailed tit. They are resident birds and always live in small groups. They inhabit forests, undergrowth and even gardens. They weave a ball-shaped nest out of lichen, moss and dry grass.
Flora
Wood cranesbill
The path is edged with large clumps of a plant with purple flowers, the wood cranesbill. The leaves are palmate and divided into 5 to 7 incised and indented lobes, This common plant grows in meadows and cool woods. The «geraniums» we see on balconies are in fact pelargoniums, distant cousins originally from South Africa and cultivated for ornamental purposes.
Fauna
The Alpine copse snail
On the damp banks of the stream, hidden in the grass, is a snail with a beautiful golden brown shell speckled with brown, decorated with a dark spiral stripe. It has a black body. The alpine copse snail is relatively rare and, as its name suggests, it is found in the Alps. It is a sub-species of the ordinary copse snail, which is present across Europe.