Itinerant Hiking in the Devoluy

We meet at 9:00 AM at the parking lot of Pont du Trabuëch, Le Clos Michel, in Lus-la-Croix-Haute. If you're arriving by train, the meeting point will be directly at the station, where the guide will pick you up before heading to the start of the hike at Pont du Trabuëch.

This first day begins with our meeting with the guide and the other participants. We start the adventure at La Jarjatte, a charming place surrounded by limestone cliffs. We then ascend towards the Col des Aiguilles (2003m), first through a beautiful mixed forest, and then along a winding path that takes us into the mineral world of the alpine zone. Keep an eye out: in these impressive vertical cliffs, we might catch sight of herds of chamois.

After a picnic break on a mountain plateau, we begin the descent into the vast valley of Aiguilles, with a clear view of the Dévoluy massif.

At Col du Festre, we continue on a magnificent crossing of the slopes of Mont Chauvet until we reach the hamlet of La Cluse, where we are warmly welcomed at the Yvraie gîte, an essential stop on the Dévoluy tour.

This second day, the most alpine and intense, will leave us with unforgettable memories. After a hearty breakfast, we head out early into the forest, towards the mountain of Aurouze, where we will reach the highest point of our trek. We take its wildest side, a desert-like landscape with raw beauty, accessible only through a challenging off-trail effort. After some rocky ascents, we reach the plateau and the observatory (2564m).

A well-deserved break allows us to regain strength before, if we wish, opting for a round trip to Tête de la Cluse, offering an exceptional panorama of the Écrins, Dévoluy, and the Northern Alps. We then begin the descent through the beautiful Combe Ratin, followed by a gentle and accessible path until our second stop at the village of Saint-Étienne-en-Dévoluy, in the heart of the massif. After this intense day, it's time to rest and celebrate!

Technical difficulty: The ascent is largely over scree slopes.

This third stage, rich in contrasts, begins gently before offering us a grandiose panorama in the afternoon. The morning starts on the smooth trail of the GR Tour du Dévoluy, following a stream and crossing a mosaic of landscapes shaped by humans over the centuries, between natural resources and environmental constraints.

At the foot of the southern face of Mont Gicon, which rises to over 2000m in the heart of the Dévoluy, we begin the ascent through the alpine meadows. At the summit, an breathtaking view awaits us: the Obiou, Faraut, Grand Ferrand, and Pic de Bure, which we explored the day before. The descent follows the ridge, then through the pastures, until we reach the hamlet of Saint-Disdier, where our gîte welcomes us for the night.

For this final stage, we explore the unique karst landscape of the Dévoluy massif. The day begins by taking us through beautiful traditional hamlets perched on sunny ridges, before starting the ascent to Col de Charnier (2105m).

Along the way, old agricultural lands, now reclaimed by wild flora, give way to alpine meadows, the kingdom of marmots and birds of prey. We progress between the southern slopes of Grand Ferrand and the cliffs of Roche Courbe, in the heart of the majestic Charnier valley.

At the summit of the day, the view opens up to the Lauzon Lake below, with the Vercors and Diois mountains as a backdrop. After a well-deserved contemplative break, we descend towards the high Buëch valley, reaching La Jarjatte and bringing this beautiful adventure to a close.