Les Choulières circuit (no. 3)

Fauna

Flora

Geology

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A lovely, tranquil circuit on the south-facing side of the municipality of Vallouise-Pelvoux

This path - relatively easy but with a few technical sections - takes you through the south-facing side of the municipality of Vallouise-Pelvoux and will reward you with a fine panoramic vista over the valley. So you will have the opportunity to take in views of Mont Pelvoux and other legendary peaks in the area.

Description

The trail starts at the Pelvoux-Vallouise resort, near the Village Igloo

Cross the footbridge over the Gyr and head left onto the local road. Leave the road 200 metres further on, turning right towards the Domaine des Claux
At the end of the track, turn left onto the road leading towards Les Choulières
On the hairpin, go straight ahead along a narrow path heading towards the "Adret" (south-facing slopes). ⚠ Caution, dangerous section; if necessary, for safety's sake keep to the biking side along certain stretches
At the intersection, turn left towards Le Sarret
On the descent to the mountain stream La Juliane, continue straight ahead to cross it
At Belle Vue, turn left towards Le Poët and Vallouise
At the end of the track, head left, then right and then left again to take a narrow path taking you across the Paulin mountain stream (⚠ Be careful not to be caught by the current!)
Head left on a track which runs downhill to a paved road, then the local road in Vallouise
At the crossroads near the bridge, turn right to take a track, called Le Moulin, which runs along the left-hand bank of the Gyr
Cross the bridge spanning the Gyr and head right towards your starting point.

Departure : Pelvoux-Vallouise resort
Arrival : Pelvoux-Vallouise resort
Towns crossed : Vallouise-Pelvoux

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

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

Take your litter home

Do not take shortcuts across pastureland

Information desks

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

Place de l'Eglise, 05340 Vallouise

https://www.paysdesecrins.com/contact@paysdesecrins.com +33(0)4 92 23 36 12

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 >> www.paysdesecrins.com

Access and parking

12.5 km from L'Argentière-la-Bessée, take the D994E.

Parking :

Pelvoux-Vallouise resort car park, Pelvoux

6 points of interest

Vernacular heritage
The minor heritage of Pelvoux
Every hamlet has its own chapel. In the territory of Pelvoux, Les Claux has the chapel of Sainte-Barbe with a restored sun dial dating from 1792. The seventeenth-century chapel of Saint-Pancrace is in Le Poët. In Le Sarret, you can admire the chapel of Saint-Joseph and the chapel of Notre-Dame des Sept Douleurs stands in Le Fangeas. Every hamlet has its own communal oven and water fountains as well. Finally, the church of Saint-Antoine is located in the hamlet of Saint-Antoine. It has a sun dial dating from 1810.
History
Les Choulières
The French children's song Savez-vous planter les choux? (Do you know how to plant cabbage?) is very appropriate here! In any event, the name Choulières is believed to be a reference to a place planted with cabbages and, by extension, a place where vegetables are grown. The phasing out of crop cultivation in the mountains has altered the landscape: the hay meadows and fields are now used as grazing meadows for increasingly large flocks of sheep.
Geology and geography
L'Adret
This place is called L'Adret. In some regions, the term adret refers to the slope that is exposed to the sun, facing south or west. This is as opposed to the ubac, the north-facing slope. On the adret side, crops start to grow earlier and ripen faster and the houses warm up quicker too! These warmer slopes have therefore largely been cleared of vegetation, and the forest was maintained as a source of wood for fuel or building material.
Fauna
The trout
But what's the angler angling for? The brown trout of course! This is the mountain fish par excellence, with a streamlined body to withstand the current more efficiently and light brown skin speckled with black and red. It lives in cold, oxygen-rich waters.
Flora
Forest on the water's edge
This small wood is a fragment of the riparian forest: natural forest growing adjacent to a body of water. Reduced everywhere due to urbanisation, this type of forest is made up of alder, willow and oak, and also poplar, birch and aspen, among others
Flora
The aspen
On the right, a stand of aspens with smooth, greenish trunks and rounded, crenelated leaves take on magnificent colours in autumn. The stem, or petiole, of aspen leaves is flat and twisted, so it can be caught by the slightest breeze making the foliage «quake» hence its common name, the quaking aspen.