The Balcons des Ecrins

A journey matching your dreams

Around the mountain range and through the villages, winding its way between valleys and summits, the "Balcons des Écrins" give access to a wide range of "à la carte" trails. A variety that leaves visitors with the choice of pace and ways of exploring the area. In line with your wish to walk exactly as you feel like it at the time.

These trails were made to be visited at your own pace and with a wide range of visiting options, meeting the needs of fans of gentler hiking, explorers on foot or on donkeys, horse-riders, mountain-biking aficionados, electric cyclists or trail runners - anyone looking for short stays from 2 to 7 days...

With walks with your family or more adventurous treks, this is an accessible way to explore the Écrins National Park and the region.

Valleys with something for everyone

Briançonnais region: at the gates of the high mountains

A charming valley with vast prairies, the Briançonnais area brings you a landscape of flowers (National Alpine Park) and heritage with its villages and hamlets all along the route up to the mountains. With the Meije (3983m) looking down, the valley displays its charms in answer to the crystal-clear and glacier world opposite.

> Discover the Briançonnais

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Vallouise: and its hidden valleys

Hidden from the main road along the River Durance, the Vallouise Valley is the most visited valley in the Écrins range. The Vallouise Valley provides easy access to a grandiose domain of glaciers and towering summits. An unusual aspect in the Fournel valley is a disused lead/silver mine that was quarried from the Middle Ages and is open for visits.

> Discover the Vallouise

 

L'Embrunais: a mountain bathed in water and sinshine

A major heritage site in the Écrins, Embrun is an ancient Roman capital and ecclesiastical centre. History-lovers will be delighted by its architectural heritage. The Embrunais is the most southerly sector in the Park, where hikers can see highly diverse fauna and flora: ocellated lizards, English lavender, peonies, little black scorpions, etc.

> Discover the Embrunais

 

Le Champsaur:  an Alpine garden in a woodland region

The valley is unveiled at a single glance: a prosperous mountain, woodland with networks of hedges, canals and sunken lakes... Agricultural is highly present, the basis for a green tourism helping to preserve the quality of the landscapes.

> Discover the Champsaur

 

Valgaudemar: a Himalaya in the Southern Alps

This narrow valley of hamlets and villages, which widens out in places, hides all the riches of its territory at its heart. Among its treasures are cirques and glacial polish areas, lakes and waterfalls, the sunny slopes of the steep mountain pastures – plus chamois, orange lilies, black grouse, the precious Alpine newt and many others. Of all the waterfalls, like long scarves flowing down the mountainside, the "Voile de la Mariée" in Gioberney is the most famous.

> Discover the Valgaudemar

 

Valbonnais: peaceful and craggy

The Valbonnais is an area that is somewhat apart, a little hidden, far from the main roads and railways. There are easy family hikes at low altitude and the Alpine circuits in the high craggy regions – giving an idea of the variety in the area, with marked opposition between the slopes.

> Discover the Valbonnais

 

Oisans: vertical, the pionneers' valley

The Oisans, a high mountain region, is a major mountain-climbing site and famous for its pioneers, with the St-Christophe Museum dedicated to their history. The Oisans is also the home of the Lauvitel integral reserve, a focal point for studying the evolution of an environment, its fauna and flora, sheltered from all human influence.

> Discover the Oisans

 

> Walk along the Ecrins heights!