national parks, the Mercantour. Summers here tend to be hot and the mountains rather arid, as the Alps finally run out at the Côte d’Azur.
Today the major industry in the French Alps is tourism, and during the winter months skiing is an important source of income. There is still plenty of non-intensive farming, and forestry is also very much in evidence. Employment is also available in the hydroelectric industry and in the management of the national and regional parks.
Walkers on the ascent to the Col de Moussière (Stage 1)
The Queyras
The Queyras is a rather isolated region of the French Alps, situated in the eastern half of the département of the Hautes-Alpes, bordering Italy on three sides. Turin lies to the east in a wide valley at the foot of the Piedmont Alps. The Queyras lies within the old province of Dauphiné, having been part of France since 1349. (The correct pronunciation of Queyras is a little unclear. Remember that in French ‘qu’ is pronounced rather like a ‘k’. Locals often do not pronounce the ‘s’, whereas most French people who live outside the region pronounce the word with the final consonant.)
The major peaks of the Queyras (Pic de Rochebrune 3320m/10,884ft, Grand Glaiza 3293m/10,795ft, Le Pain de Sucre 3208m/10,517ft, Tête des Toillies 3175m/10,409ft, Le Grand Queyras 3114m/10,209ft, Bric Bouchet 2997m/9825ft, Tête du Pelvas 2929m/9602ft) are lower than those in the Vanoise to the north and the Écrins to the northwest, and there are no glaciers in the Queyras. It is ideal hill-walking country, where several of the mountain summits can be reached by the ordinary walker, without the use of specialist equipment or skills.
The region is scenically of the highest order, and because of its location there are first-rate views of the neighbouring summits of the Écrins and the Piedmont Alps in Italy. The highest, most imposing and well-known mountain in the whole area is Monte Viso (3841m/12,592ft). Its summit lies just over the border in Italy, but its mighty and graceful lines are on view for much of the Tour of the Queyras.
View from Saint-Véran (Stage 3)
The main geographical feature of the Queyras is the Guil valley. The River Guil rises high up in the mountains on the border with Italy in the Monte Viso region. It flows first to the northwest, passing La Monta and Abriès before turning to the southwest, passing Aiguilles to reach Château-Queyras. From here the river continues below the hamlet of Bramousse to enter the deep Combe du Queyras, before flowing into the River Durance near the fortified town of Montdauphin. The River Guil is met on several occasions during the Tour of the Queyras.
The major town of the Queyras is Guillestre, on the southwestern outskirts of the district. Several large villages or small towns in the region – such as Abriès, Saint-Véran and Ceillac – have expanded over the last few decades to accommodate the growing skiing and tourist industry. The nearest large town to the Queyras is Briançon, 34km (21 miles) north of Guillestre on the N94 along the Durance valley.
The classic road approach to the Queyras is via the famous Col d’lzoard (2361m/7740ft) on the D902 from Briançon and Cervières. This is one of the most impressive road passes in the Alps, providing spectacular views, but usually made impassable by snow from October to May. The other approach is from Gap and Embrun to the southwest, then through the Combe du Queyras on the D902 to Château-Queyras, and on up the Guil valley to Abriès.
The mountains effectively prevent a southern approach to the region, and the peaks and high cols forming the Franco–Italian border isolate the district from Italy. There is one route through the heart of the Queyras and over into Italy. It runs from Château-Queyras to Ville-Vieille and on past the Demoiselle Coiffée (a natural feature that consists of a high earth pillar surmounted by a large boulder), continuing to La Rua, Molines-en-Queyras, Pierre Grosse and Fontgillarde, and up to Col Agnel on the border with Italy. On the author’s previous visits in the 1980s, the latter stages of this ascent were on an unsurfaced track, requiring the use of a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Now this track is fully metalled, and links with the road descending from Col Agnel to Chianale in Italy and so on to Turin. The route is an ancient one, and many believe it to be the line taken by Hannibal and his elephants in the legendary crossing of the Alps.
The Norman church of St Pierre et St Paul, Abriès (Stage 7)
There are several cul-de-sac roads in the Queyras that allow visitors to admire the scenery. The road up the Cervières valley to Les Fonts is one example. Others include the road to the Belvédère du Viso in the Upper Guil valley and the road along the Mélezet valley from Ceillac to La Riaille.
The Queyras, like most other regions of the Alps, has experienced depopulation over the last 150 years, caused by the hardships of rural mountain life, lack of local employment and the effects of two world wars. Being so close to Italy, the Queyras suffered considerably in the last war, and was the scene of much mountain warfare (witness the destruction of La Monta and Ristolas in the upper Guil valley). The population of the Queyras stood at around 8000 in the mid-19th century, but today the resident population is much lower than this. For example, Molines-en-Queyras had over 1000 inhabitants in 1838, but this had declined to 290 by the mid-1970s. However, skiing and tourism have now helped to stabilise the situation.
Typical carpenter’s cross, Ceillac (Stage 2)
In the Queyras the typical architecture is houses built of half stone and half wood, with high haylofts (or greniers). Many of these were built in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are good examples to be seen in La Rua near Molines-en-Queyras and in Saint-Véran and Aiguilles.
The Catholic religion has always been strong in the Queyras, and there is ample evidence of this to be seen on the walk, in the form of numerous shrines, chapels, ornate churches and ‘carpenter’s crosses’. There was considerable religious intolerance here in earlier centuries, leading to the emigration of many Protestants to the more tolerant German states in the north.
The Queyras is famous for its honey (miel) – it is now a minor tourist industry – and numerous beehives will be seen on the walk. Woodcarving is another speciality of the region. There are plenty of examples of local handicrafts in the shops in the villages and hamlets along the Tour.
Further information on places to visit in the Queyras, and events and activities in the region, are available at local tourist offices (syndicats d’initiative, maison du tourisme or office de tourisme). There are tourist offices in Guillestre, Ceillac, Saint-Véran, Molines-en-Queyras, Abriès, Aiguilles, Château-Queyras and Arvieux.
Walking in the French Alps
Walking in the French Alps is well within the capabilities of the average British hill walker, and this section is included to encourage the potential first-timer to take a walking holiday in the Alps. This Tour in particular is ideal for those contemplating their first walking trip outside the UK – the majority of walkers return many times.
Following an old country track on the GR58 near Les Escoyères (Stage 2)
It is a fairly common misconception in the UK that the Alps can only be explored by the experienced mountaineer or alpinist, or that these mountains are the playground of the package-holiday skier. However, there are many well-trodden and clearly waymarked paths beneath the permanent snowline, threading through valleys, ascending to high cols and traversing ridges. There is a tradition amongst the people of central western Europe, who live far from the seaside, to take their family holidays in these mountains, and the paths are used by young and old alike, so British hill walkers or ramblers should not consider the Alps to be beyond them. If you can manage a walking holiday in the English Lake District or the Highlands of Scotland, then