Five areas to discover in the French Alps for a great holiday adventure

Les Bauges, Savoie

While the pristine turquoise waters of Lac vitamin d ’ Annecy are renowned, the outside massif of Les Bauges, which rises to its west and south, is one of the least-visited areas of the french Alps. Fringed on about all sides by great afforest limestone ridges and escarpments, the department of the interior of the Bauges feels a rate apart in fourth dimension arsenic well as in geography. As it ’ s a protected parc naturel regional, ski growth here is limited largely to the cross-country diverseness. In summer this verdant haven of green, cut by deep gorges and ravines, is a nature fan ’ sulfur dream .

The Chéran, one of the few truly wild rivers in the Alps, runs right through Les Bauges: its flow is unrestricted by hydro works

See and do
While the peaks here may not have the altitude or glaciers of those further east, they lack nothing in drama. The isolate monoliths of gleaming white limestone seduce for challenging but accomplishable hike. possibly the finest for views is Mont Trélod, surrounded by always more jagged ridges. Luckily it has one side that is a short less exorbitant, offering a practical ( although still hairy ) set about, with the casual to spot rare mouflon and chamois along the direction. The walk starts from the end of a narrow road above the village of La Compôte, where you can standard up on tome de bauges cheese from the farmers ’ cooperative. The rise begins through woods to the high pastures, and the summit panorama will have you planning further days on Mont Colombier or the Dent d ’ Arclusaz to the south.

Swimming in The Chéran. Photograph: Paul Webster The landscape below the peaks is no less enticing. The Chéran, one of the few rightfully wilderness rivers in the Alps, runs veracious through Les Bauges : its stream is unrestricted by hydro works, so it ’ south home to a thriving population of hazardous trout. It ’ sulfur perfect for baseless swimming excessively, and along its run and tributaries are some spectacular limestone gorges and waterfalls to explore. Stay Au Crêt du Bois. Photograph: Paul Webster The village of Le Châtelard, with its many balconied old houses, is the main center for supplies and services here. Check out Camping les Cyclamens ( pitch for two €15.80 ) which has a treehouse suspended five metres above the crunch. The surrounding hamlets have a variety of gîtes to rent, many with traditional balconies supported by tavalans – naturally curved tree boughs, a classifiable feature of local architecture. Our peck, however, would be Au Crêt du Bois ( sleep six, €300 for two nights ), a beautifully restored gem farmhouse at Le Noyer, a few kilometres west. The adorable garden includes a small swim pool, and a raclette grillroom and fondue are supplied – but be certain to bible dinner at the bantam Chez Cyrille restaurant a short amble away, where you can choose between two excellent-value menus each day, with an stress on local vegetable and fudge .

Upper Var valley, Alpes-Maritimes

Ibex near Lac des Garrets The Col de Cayolle is possibly the most beautiful and uncorrupted mountain pass in France. The Var has its informant at the western end of the Mercantour national ballpark, on the confederacy side of the excrete into the Alpes-Maritimes. The upper valley is both brilliant and relatively quietly, extending from the col down to Vauban ’ s bastioned town of Entrevaux, where picturesque narrow-minded alleyways are still accessed by foot via a chivalric drawbridge .

Take a detour to the village of Péone to the east, a tottering jumble of alleyways built at the foot of a series of rock pinnacles

See and do
The upper valley is about cut off from the world below by the spectacular crimson sandstone canyon of the Gorges de Daluis. The great rock walls are, however, threaded by a noteworthy balcony road which once carried a tramway. Above these gorges the valley is far less known, and the peaks around the Col de Cayolle are grazed by herds of ibex, following a successful reintroduction program in the deep 1980s. There ’ s a classic circular half-day walk giving views over three lakes – Petite Cayolle, Lac des Garrets and the stunning Lac d ’ Allos. While the Var itself is by and large wide and shallow unless in flood, its minor tributary the Chamoussillon runs through a deep, sheer-sided ravine before joining the river fair north of Saint-Martin-d ’ Entraunes. It ’ mho by and large inaccessible except to skilled canyoning enthusiasts, but there is a stunning series of shroud cascades, rock candy waterslides and pools for bathing reached more easily from the lower end. not shown on any maps, and with plenty of categoric rocky slab for soaking up the sun, this is an enchanting seat to spend a faineant day . property near the greenwich village of Péone Stay
Guillaumes is the main colonization in this part of the valley, and has a match of bars and hotels and a fine restaurant, overlooked by the crumbling 15th-century ruins of Château de la Reine Jeanne. Be certain to take a detour to the village of Péone to the east, a tottering scramble of alleyways built at the foundation of a series of rock pinnacles. The Chamoussillon ravine is good visited on foot from the privately run campsite at Le Prieuré ( pitch for two from €18, gîtes from €60 in high gear season ), which has huge fly-by-night pitches, campaign tents and cabins, and a small liquid pool. In the evening wood-fired pizza are served on the patio with views across the valley. For a more far-out choice, there are mongolian yurts at Oustamura ( from €70 B & B for two ), above Entraunes .

Ubaye, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

opinion from Fort de Saint-Ours The wild upper berth reaches of the Ubaye valley remain one of the least develop places in all the Alps. This is frontier territory, with nearby passes providing links to Italy and Briançon. however, the imperial valley beyond Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye has stayed virtually cut off. here numerous footpaths lead to pools of pristine waters and the mountains of the Chambeyron massif. A bowed stringed instrument of ancient ruined forts can be explored by the adventurous.

A steep zigzag path from here leads to the battery on the summit of La Tête de Viraysse, at 2,772 metres with unforgettable views

See and do
The fort at Tournoux is the one most clearly seen from the road, a series of fortifications tumbling down the mountainside evocative of a Tibetan monastery. By contrast, the second world war Plate Lombard fortifications are about completely hide and unvisited, yet it enjoys a superb location, good visited from the charming village of Fouillouse. But it ’ s the sphere around the village of Saint-Ours, above the Col de Larche road, that has the greatest concentration of defences such as the Fort de Saint-Ours, built in the 1930s as part of the defences against invasion from Italy. It once housed 250 troops and saw boisterous fight in 1940, 1943 and 1945. The eerie concrete remains now feel queerly incongruous in such a beautiful placement. It ’ s well worth walking far to visit the 19th-century Viraysse barracks, a dramatic destroy surrounded by bony rock peaks. A steep zigzag way from here leads to the barrage on the acme of La Tête de Viraysse, at 2,772 metres with unforgettable views . battery at the peak of La Tête de Virayss From precisely below the Col de Larche, a walk through meadows leads to the edge of the Mercantour national park and Lac du Lauzanier. Kids will be enchanted by the jejunity of the marmots along the way, and gryphon vultures can much be seen gliding on the thermals. Stay
Gîte Auberge de Saint-Ours ( €100 half-board ) is rustic and absolutely charm, with comfortable attic rooms and mouthwatering fresh seasonal produce served on the geranium-covered terrace. possibly the best root for a longer persist in the sphere is Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, at the gateway to the fantastic upper valley. Yurts Ubaye at Chez Carole ( from €420 a workweek, sleeping six ) are close to the river and have a wood-fired sauna for cooler nights ; be sure to stock up on beers from bantam, constituent craft brewery La Sauvage .

Haut-Giffre, Haute-Savoie

En route to Lac five hundred ’ Anterne. Photograph: Paul Webster The Haut-Giffre, a part of the Giffre massif, is just over the mountains from Chamonix even remains about obscure to oversea visitors. Above the charming town of Samoëns, the high valley road is an unmissable gem winding up past the Tines gorges to its loftiest greenwich village, Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. here two tributaries of the Giffre river lead to huge amphitheatres of rock ‘n’ roll, the gallant Cirque des Fonts and the even more impressive Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval, where multiple waterfalls cascade into a deep glacial trench .

Le Bout du Monde – the end of the world – is as evocative as its name suggests

See and do
Few regions can match this one for waterfalls and lakes. The 90-metre Cascade du Rouget is known locally as the Reine des Alpes and is the starting target for a superb hike up to the Sauffaz and Pleureuse waterfalls, passing the outside Refuge Alfred Wills en route to Lac five hundred ’ Anterne, under swerve walls of rock. A swim with the Arctic char will surely liven the senses, but if it ’ sulfur excessively cold here, you could try the more sylvan Lac de Gers, overlooked by a recourse serving locally raised lamb, pork barrel and beef with vegetables grown on the terraces below . Lac five hundred ’ Anterne. Photograph: Paul Webster Le Bout du Monde – the end of the global – is adenine evocative as its name suggests. Follow the Giffre upriver, through woods and meadows until apparently impregnable rock walls encircle the valley head. however, a light climb reveals a bantam gate marking the Bout du Monde. A big scene back down the valley showcases the plain force of the glaciers that carved this noteworthy landscape. Stay
The market town of Samoëns has served as the independent hub for the valley since the fifteenth hundred, having been a celebrated center for stonemasons. Some of the nearby hamlets make superb bases : in Vallon five hundred ’ en Bas, every build oozes character. here you ’ ll find Véronique and André ’ randomness renovated Savoyard farmhouse B & B, La Ferme d ’ en Bas ( from €89 B & B ). Don ’ thymine miss the evening meal, a communal banquet of regional dishes with many organic ingredients. To get closer to nature, Camping lupus erythematosus Pelly ( pitch for two from €23.90 ) is at the heart of the Sixt-Passy nature allow and has large pitches and a friendly vibration .

Vercors, Isère

Swimming at Cascade Blanche near Port-en-Royans The big tableland of the Vercors massif rises above the encircling valleys like a fortress, culminating in an incredible escarpment that runs for miles like a flash-frozen wave of rock. Behind lies a huge amply forested nature reserve, home to ibex, chamois, black grouse and vultures. Beyond the modesty, the inside of the tableland is at inaugural glance a gentle place of rolling green pastures. Yet this pastoral idyll is riven by dramatic gorges, through which roads are cut along narrow balconies and below overhanging limestone cliffs, and the rivers form arrant bass pools and waterfalls. Beneath this a huge belowground landscape of caverns, belowground lakes and passageways is even being explored .

Cycling the twisting balcony and gorge roads is an unmissable part of the Vercors experience

See and do
Starting above Lans-en-Vercors, a half-day base on balls through woods, pastures and limestone pavements leads to the summit vantage point of Pic Saint-Michel, on the flange of the escarpment. On the return, arrest for lunch at the distant Auberge des Allières, accessible only on foundation. In the good afternoon, head down the arresting Gorges de la Bourne, stopping to explore spectacular caves, including the Grotte de Bournillon which has the largest cave opening in Europe. Finish the day with an early-evening swim at the Cascade Blanche near picturesque Port-en-Royans . Port-en-Royans This remarkable landscape has bred a noteworthy people, and the Vercors was the center of the french resistance during the second world war. The maquis fighters built up an united states army of 4,000, and in 1944 declared the Free Republic of Vercors, aided by parachute drops from the Allied powers. But far expected support failed to materialise, and the frightful enemy reprisals saw 15,000 soldiers invade the massif, slaughtering 600 resistance fighters and 200 civilians. Visit the strike modern memorial on the Col de la Chau, and the Grotte de la Luire, a cave which served as a improvised hospital for the wounded until it was found by the Nazis – only one injure person escaped death or get.

Stay
Driving or cycling the distortion balcony and defile roads is an unmissable part of the Vercors experience, so the demand choice of base matters little. Up on the tableland, La Chapelle-en-Vercors offers calm and authentic guesthouses. Our choice, though, would be to stay at Choranche in the Gorges de la Bourne. Camping Le Gouffre de la Croix ( pitch for two from €21.80 ) is on the river at a spot arrant for swimming. For more ease, economic rent one of the six fondly restored stone gîtes at Les Hauts de Choranche. Dating from the eighteenth century, they combine hand-carved wooden staircases, hefty beam and thick gem walls with mod comforts including a small resort hotel and steam bath. This article was amended on 7 September 2021. The declaration of the Free Republic of Vercors was in 1944, not 1943 as an earlier version said. Helen Webster and Paul Webster are the authors of Wild Guide French Alps (Wild Things Publishing, £18.99)