Читать книгу Ecrins National Park. 70 walking routes in the Ecrins national park онлайн

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Meanwhile N91 snakes through more tunnels before emerging on the ledge of Villar d'Arène, the last village on the route to Col du Lautaret, although side roads break off to the hamlets of Le Pied du Col and Les Cours. Col du Lautaret itself offers a striking view of the Mieje massif and its glaciers. At an altitude of 2057m it is said to be the busiest crossing in the Dauphiné Alps, and is kept open throughout the winter. There's a 2-hectare Alpine Garden with over 2000 species of plants, and in the Refuge Napoléon an information centre detailing the geology of the area as well as its flora and fauna. At the col D902 forks north on the way to Col du Galibier (highest crossing on the Route des Grandes Alpes), but N91 continues to the southeast, descending into the Vallée de la Guisane on the way to Briançon.

Main Valley Bases

BOURG D'OISANS (720m) is one of the main points of entry to the Écrins region, having ready access to both the Romanche and Vénéon valleys and, via Col d'Ornon, to the Valjouffrey. As ‘capital’ of the region the town has frequent bus connections with Grenoble, and is the terminus for a variety of services, not only through the Romanche but also to La Bérarde, Les Deux-Alpes, Alpe-d'Huez and so on. Le Bourg is situated in an open, sunny basin at the confluence of several valleys. It has a wide assortment of shops, bars and restaurants, a number of hotels, apartments and campsites, a gîte d'étape a little south of town at Le Vert, a Maison du Parc (National Park information office) and a Bureau des Guides. Bourg also has several banks and ATMs, pharmacies and a dentist. Contact the tourist office for their Guide des Hébergements (accommodation list) – address and telephone number at the head of this section. On the hillside more than 1100m above Le Bourg to the northeast lies the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, reached by a road of numerous hairpins and visited by walkers following GR549, while Bourg d'Oisans marks the starting point for the classic GR54 Tour de l'Oisans.