Circular Mont Charvin route via the Col de la Louvière, starting from La Chal

A superb hike that starts at the Col d’Arves, then descends through the forest and takes you up to Mont Charvin via the Col de la Louvière. You can admire splendid views of the Aiguilles d’Arves, the Meije Glacier and the Sybelles ski area.

Details

n°3890656

Creation:
22 Aug 2020

Last update:
16 Sep 2020

Last review:
21 Jul 2025

Activity: Walking
Distance: 6.62 mi
Average duration: 6h 05
Difficulty: Difficult
Back to start: Yes
Ascent: + 3,445 ft
Descent: - 3,438 ft
Highest point: 7,231 ft
Lowest point: 4,554 ft

Country: France
Areas: Alps, Vallée de la Maurienne
City: Saint-Jean-d'Arves (73530)
Start/End: N 45.215061° / E 6.262052°
IGN map(s): Ref. 3435ET, 3435ETR
Hour-by-hour weather

Avalanche risk assessment bulletin

Discover Visorando Premium

Downloads

Open in the mobile app

Download GPX GPX

Download PDF PDF

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the hamlet of La Chal in Saint-Jean-d'Arves.

(S/E) Head towards the end of the street and turn right towards the Col d'Arves. Pass under the La Chal chairlift and reach a crossroads.

(1) Turn left towards the Col d'Arves.

(2) When you reach the Col d'Arves (iron cross), turn right and continue until you reach the sign for the Porte du Taraveray.

(3) Turn left onto the wide path leading down towards the forest.

(4) Follow the sign on the right towards Le Corbier. The descent takes place in the shade of the forest. It is a pleasant and fairly easy descent, although there are a few sections where you need to be careful as there are many tree roots across the path. Throughout the route, there are signs with arrows indicating a circular route (black arrows on a yellow background).

(5) After a long descent, head towards Lac de l’Œillette. The path through the forest continues, skirting the rocky side of Mont Charvin. You’ll be treated to beautiful views of the resorts of Le Corbier and La Toussuire, as well as the rocky cliffs.

(6) Leave the path towards the lake and turn right towards the Col de la Louvière. The path continues to wind through the forest, climbing steadily and continuously. In places, it is quite narrow and you will need to use a rope handrail to get past a section where scree has damaged the path.

(7) Continue to the right as you climb to reach the Col de la Louvière (1,580 m).

(8) Follow the path, which continues to climb but more gently, until you reach a mountain pasture with a gate. An old hut indicates that shepherds were present here in times past, some more recent than others.

(9) Begin the long climb towards Mont Charvin across pastures on the path that climbs steadily through the meadows. The whistling of marmots tells you they are watching you, and you can hear or see herds of cows grazing peacefully.

Before tackling the final ascent to the summit, you can admire the fairy chimneys and a breathtaking panorama. Caution advised for those prone to vertigo.

(10) Once you reach Mont Charvin (2,207 m), enjoy magnificent views of all the surrounding mountains: the Meije Glacier and the Pointe de la Grande Casse, the Étendard Glacier, the Argentière Glacier, the Pic de l’Étendard, the Aiguilles d’Arves, the Goléon, the Belledonne range (among others) and the Maurienne valley.

Then begin the descent towards La Chal. Caution: the path is very steep and slippery, with a dizzying view over the rocks right at the start. Return to the junction of the circular path.

(3) Retrace your steps in the opposite direction to return to La Chal (S/E).

Waypoints

S/E : mi 0 - alt. 5,246 ft - Chalets at the top of La Chal
1 : mi 0.57 - alt. 5,607 ft - Junction
2 : mi 0.68 - alt. 5,725 ft - Col d'Arves (1750m)
3 : mi 0.89 - alt. 5,873 ft - Crossroads of the circular loop
4 : mi 1.41 - alt. 5,515 ft - Heading towards Le Corbier
5 : mi 1.94 - alt. 5,121 ft - Head towards Lac de l'Œillette
6 : mi 2.41 - alt. 4,606 ft - Heading towards Col de la Louvière
7 : mi 2.81 - alt. 4,760 ft - Turn right
8 : mi 2.94 - alt. 5,174 ft - Col de la Louvière (1560m)
9 : mi 3.38 - alt. 5,348 ft - Shepherd’s hut
10 : mi 4.91 - alt. 7,211 ft - Mont Charvin
S/E : mi 6.62 - alt. 5,253 ft - Chalets at the top of La Chal

Notes

Please note: this hike is for experienced walkers. Some sections are tricky, with narrow paths, slippery and steep sections, and mountain-side trails. Walking poles are essential.

Bring water and a snack.

Reviews and comments

4.9 / 5

Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5

Ease of following the route
5 / 5

Route interest
4.7 / 5

ChTitom

21 Jul 2025 at 09:00 7200

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, to be done in the direction indicated unless you are willing to end it with a climb through the forest that seems endless, especially after the descent....
No particular difficulties except for a few narrow passages during the climb back up through the forest. However, we found the final descent much easier than previous descriptions suggested (the ground was very dry).
Magnificent view from the summit.
Hike completed on 11/07/2025, starting at 6:00 a.m., we only encountered five people on the entire route.

Machine-translated

lazzerini

03 Sep 2022 at 21:11 7200

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely hike with two very different sections.
The descent is through the forest in the cool shade, whilst the ascent is in the sunshine across the mountain pastures.
As mentioned in the guidebook, watch out for the numerous, treacherous roots in the forest section. I wasn’t expecting there to be so many.
The climb up to the Col de La Louvière is quite tough.
The route description is very brief for the start, but especially at La Frédière (after the ‘9 ’) where the numerous tracks made by cows obscure the path to take and where the signposting is sporadic. The GPX track and the Visorando app are highly recommended.
From there, it’s a 1.5 km climb that’s long… very long… endless… until you reach the junction with a view of the fairy chimneys!

The section with a handrail during the climb to the Col de La Louvière wasn’t, for me, the part that worried me the most (I’m not very comfortable with sections over the ‘abyss’ ) and it was actually the descent on the way back that made me break out in a sweat.
In fact, I didn’t go near the rocks… too exposed… I even thought we had to go down that way as the path was clearly marked right up to them.
Luckily, the signpost at the top of Mont Charvin clearly states that you must “take the well-marked path”, as I was already melting at the mere thought of having to go over those rocks... I would NEVER in a million years have gone down there
As the path in question was a hairpin bend, I hadn’t spotted it straight away.

In short... a descent taken in small steps...
and as mentioned in the previous post and in the practical information: walking poles, good grippy shoes and dry weather are highly recommended.

Stunning views all along the way and at the top. Truly magnificent!

Machine-translated

sonot

06 Nov 2020 at 22:55 3600

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 25, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb autumn hike with a wide variety of terrain and scenery. A secluded viewpoint with a very steep descent that requires good footwear, walking poles and, above all, dry ground (fortunately facing south-west)! We set off from the bend (alt. 1,419 m) below the Corbier. The final descent from the Col d’Arves (pleasant in summer as it’s through woodland) would have been more enjoyable via the Crêt de la Borne and then the Cruet. Elevation gain 1016m over 13km.