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Lac, Refuge and Roche de la Muzelle (Routes 50, 53, 54)

The Etançons valley below Refuge du Châtelleret (Route 66)

Vallée du Vénéon

The final entry in our summary of valleys is the Vénéon, which rises in the glacial heartland of the massif and flows roughly northwest out to the Romanche a short distance upstream of Bourg d'Oisans. The Vénéon is a gem of a valley fed by a number of attractive tributary glens, all of which are well worth exploring on foot. An infrequent daily bus service runs from Bourg to La Bérarde, the final village situated at the roadhead where the upper Vénéon is joined by the Etançons torrent – the latter draining glaciers on the south side of La Meije. Within the valley there are several small centres, but no real resorts. Naming from west to east these are: Venosc, Bourg d'Arud, St-Christophe-en-Oisans and La Bérarde, the ‘Chamonix’ (in terms of mountaineering appeal) of the Écrins.

The Parc National des Écrins

In 1913 a protected zone was centred on La Bérarde, but another 60 years passed before the Parc National des Écrins became the fifth, but largest, such National Park in France. Vauban had once described the region as having ‘mountains reaching for the sky, and valleys sinking to incredible depths’. And it is just such a landscape that is characteristic of the Park.