The great three-day Écrins raid, as a loop: Lautaret, Galibier, Briançon, Col d'Izoard and the Queyras, then back down the Durance valley (Embrun, Gap) and over the Col de la Croix Haute. The finest cols of the Southern Alps, linked without a wasted mile.
Base map © IGN · Géoplateforme. Indicative route — check that the passes are open before you set off.
Fourteen stops scouted along the 396 km, all on the route or a few hundred metres off it.
Day one climbs the Romanche to the Col du Lautaret (2,058 m), at the foot of La Meije, then up the Galibier and its 2,642 metres. It is the highest point of the trip and one of the most photographed roads in the Alps, entirely mineral above 2,300 m.
The evening stop sits at 1,326 m, in the only high-altitude fortified town built by Vauban. The upper town, ringed by ramparts and crowned with forts, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008 as part of the network of major Vauban sites. The steep lanes of the Grande Gargouille are best walked at the end of the day.
Early next morning, the Col d'Izoard (2,361 m) and above all the Casse Déserte, a cirque of scree and stone chimneys that gives the descent into the Queyras a lunar feel. Two kilometres below the summit, the Refuge Napoléon, built in 1858 thanks to a bequest from Napoleon I, is the highest of the six refuges of that name.
The road then crosses the Queyras regional nature park, one of the best preserved valleys in the Alps, and passes below Mont-Dauphin, a stronghold built by Vauban from 1693 at the confluence of the Durance and the Guil, also UNESCO listed. The return follows the Durance down through Embrun and Gap before climbing back to Grenoble over the Col de la Croix Haute (1,176 m) and through the Trièves.
From mid-June to mid-October. The Col du Galibier usually opens in early June and the Col d'Izoard in late May or early June; both normally close around mid-October depending on snow.
Yes: 396 km and around 9 h of riding spread comfortably over three days, with time to visit Briançon and stop at the Casse Déserte. You can also spread the route over four days by extending the hire.
For the whole set of fortifications built from the 18th to the 20th century around Vauban's bastioned enclosure, raised between 1692 and 1723. Briançon is one of the twelve major Vauban sites inscribed as World Heritage in 2008, like Mont-Dauphin, also on this route.
It asks for stamina more than technique. The roads are wide and well surfaced, but linking two passes above 2,300 m in the same day is tiring. If this is your first big Alpine ride, start with the great passes of the Oisans over two days.
Our Triumph and BMW bikes (A2 and A licence) are prepped, insured and serviced. Book online, self-service pick-up 24/7 in Grenoble.
envie2rouler
