Hikes in Chamaloc

This route allows you to discover the very special world of the Montagne de Beure, a territory once frequented by the brown bear.

Between Two Worlds – Rocky Cliffs at the Col de Rousset

Across the Plateau to the Highest Point of the VercorsThis two-day tour is incredibly varied in terms of landscapes. Starting from the Belvédère, which provides orientation boards not only about the peak names but also about the vultures reintroduced here, an impressive ridge walk characterizes the first part of the hike. It's worth occasionally leaving the path to walk directly along the ridge meadows. This means gaining a bit more altitude, but the views deep into the rugged cliffs are spectacular. Impressive vultures glide over the heads, sometimes very close, lifted higher into the air by the thermals; chamois play in the rock falls below, while the rolling hills of the Drôme stretch out to the horizon at your feet.From the Pas des Econdus, the terrain changes as you enter a steppe-like landscape full of bizarre karst formations, sinkholes, and weathered conifer trees. In ancient times, an old trade route passed here as the most direct connection between Grenoble and Die. The "Route du Vin" ran from Gresse over the Pas des Bachassons and through the Plaine de la Queyrie. The Romans especially left their marks here. You can still see the remains of their quarry, exploited between the 1st and 3rd centuries. Huge blocks were extracted to build structures in Dea Augusta, today’s Die, located 18 kilometers away – quite incredible!

Rocky cliffs at the Col de RoussetThe clouds often break at the Col de Rousset. Beyond the pass tunnel in the north, a thick blanket of fog envelops the Vercors, while at the southern tunnel exit the sun shines and surprises with a clear view over the Drôme hills. It is therefore not surprising that the climate here is so different that the vegetation changes from Alpine to Mediterranean. At the foot of the Drôme valley, known here as the Diois, the heat broods and a cool wind whistles around the rocks of the Col de Rousset. Here, the high plateaus of the Vercors break off to the south in wild rocky crags. The hike takes you around the highest points to the west of the pass, sometimes close to the edge of the escarpment, sometimes across the wide meadow prairie of the plateaus, sometimes on the remains of an old brick mule track directly through the steep cliffs.