The four hamlets of the Champagny-le-Haut valley

At the very end of the road, at 1,500 metres, the Champagny-le-Haut valley has been a classified natural site since 1992. You walk here between stone hamlets that have stood for centuries, at the foot of the Grande Casse and the Grande Motte. The finest way to discover it: the loop linking its four hamlets.

An almost flat loop, for everyone

This is a very easy hike: a large loop of around ten kilometres for barely +162 m of climbing, alongside the Doron river. You can take it gently over half a day, at a stroll — ideal with children or less seasoned walkers. The start is at the Couaz dam.

Good news: our chalets are in La Chiserette, one of the four hamlets. The walk begins, more or less, on the doorstep.

Four hamlets, four chapels

What makes this loop so endearing is the string of hamlets, each with its little chapel:

• La Chiserette — the Sainte-Trinité chapel;
• Le Bois — the Saint-Clair church;
• Friburge — Notre-Dame-des-Grâces;
• Laisonnay — Notre-Dame-des-Neiges.

Between them, Savoyard architecture kept intact: lauze roofs, ornate “paline” balconies, corbelled barns. It is precisely this heritage, and the landscape around it, that earned the valley its classified status in 1992.

What you see along the way

The setting speaks for itself: the Doron torrents, the waterfalls tumbling down the cliffs, and, in the background, the glaciers of the Grande Casse and the Grande Motte. As for wildlife, keep your eyes open: marmots are everywhere in spring and summer, and trout fill the fast-flowing waters.

To go further

Halfway round, the hamlet of Le Bois is worth a stop: it is home to the Refuge du Bois and the Espace Glacialis, an exhibition on the history of alpine glaciers. And for an even shorter outing with young children, the Gorzderés stroll (2.5 km, accessible to all) links Le Bois to Friburge.

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Fancy sleeping in the heart of the valley, in one of the four hamlets? Discover our chalets in La Chiserette.

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