Easy one-day hikes

From the Gîte, cross the village towards Ristolas and take the wooden walkway along the Guil torrent to Ristolas village. Discover the heritage of Queyras on this beautiful culture walk!

If you take this forest track in summer, which becomes a cross-country skiing trail in winter, you'll understand why the locals call this trail 'The Balconies'. Indeed, this south-west-facing itinerary overhangs the vast Ceillac plain and the old farming terraces of Le Chastellas, and offers a stunning panoramic view over the Font-Sancte mountains and La Pisse waterfall. You can also see the paragliders' take-off area. At the highest point you'll enter a forest which is darker than the larch forest crossed earlier. This is the largest arolla pine forest in the southern French Alps, where you'll be greeted by one of its main occupants, the spotted nutcracker.

From LE RIOU VERT, go past the chapel and turn right towards the BRAMOUSSE pass and the GR58. When you reach the BRAMOUSSE mountain chalet, above the chapel on your right you'll see a tiny chalet. The path is just behind it. Marked with small orangey-yellow circles, the path crosses meadows and forest up to the ‘centenaire', an ancient larch tree that stands amid a few other enormous larches. Backtrack a little to begin your descent, down to the waterfall for a refreshing break, then return to the chalets via a small road (if you look carefully you'll see the remains of a lime kiln below you), to reach the chapel and take the GR58 hiking trail to BRAMOUSSE.

At the end of Route de la Condamine, above Aiguilles. A short hike above Aiguilles to the Chalvet ruins and the superb Chalvet des Borels church. This itinerary takes you back in time to ‘that time when we had the time'. Information panel on local flora and fauna (La Fontaine's Fables).