Pierre Grosse Saint-Véran circular

A pleasant little circular to discover the highest village in Europe. Starting from Pierre Grosse, cross the hamlet of La Chalp. No great difficulty. Magnificent views of the Queyras peaks.

Details

347495
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.90 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 15 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,234 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,250 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 6,722 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 5,774 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

After Château-Queyras, drive through Molines-en-Queyras towards the Col Agnel.
Park at the exit of the hamlet of Pierre Grosse.

(S/E) Head down to the right towards the river (the Aigue) and reach the Pont de Chanterane.

(1) Cross the Pont de Chanterane, turn right and follow the Aigue along the left bank to reach a small campsite.

(2) Turn right and continue along the Aigue to the Pont du Moulin.

(3) Continue straight on along theGRP®® de la Dent du Ratier (red-yellow markings), towards La Chalp.
Reach the summer toboggan run and the Amoureux ski lift.

(4) Continue along theGRP®® to reach a crossroads of paths.

(5) Take the right-hand branch (this is still theGRP®®), cross the hamlet of La Chalp, the D5 (caution: heavy traffic during holiday periods) and finally the Torrent de l’Aigue Blanche.

(6) Turn left, leaving theGRP®® ahead. Walk along the meadows to the Pont du Moulin, crossing the Aigue Blanche again.

(7) Here, rejoin theGR®®58of the Tour du Queyras, turn left to cross the hamlet of Le Raux, then follow the road to the car park at the entrance to Saint-Véran.
Take the time to visit this beautiful village, with its mission crosses and fountains; the oldest house is 225 years old. Return to the car park before the Clausis ski run.

(8) Set off again from the top of the village. Cross the ski lifts and head for the Oratory of the Holy Virgin.

(9) Head back down to the left towards Pierre Grosse to reach the junction of the circular route above the hamlet of La Chalp.

(5) Then take the path you came up on to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 6,263 ft - Car park at the exit of the hamlet of Pierre Grosse
  2. 1 : mi 0.12 - alt. 6,227 ft - Chanterane Bridge - Aigue Agelle (rivière) - Affluent du Guil
  3. 2 : mi 0.27 - alt. 6,217 ft - Towards L’Aigue
  4. 3 : mi 0.49 - alt. 6,161 ft - Pont du Moulin - Aigue Agelle (rivière) - Affluent du Guil
  5. 4 : mi 0.98 - alt. 6,099 ft - Sledging track
  6. 5 : mi 1.29 - alt. 5,988 ft - Crossroads of the circular loop
  7. 6 : mi 1.76 - alt. 5,787 ft - La Chalp / bridge over the Aigue Blanche
  8. 7 : mi 2.91 - alt. 6,063 ft - Pont du Moulin on the - Aigue blanche
  9. 8 : mi 3.93 - alt. 6,604 ft - Clausis car park
  10. 9 : mi 5.16 - alt. 6,542 ft - Oratory of the Blessed Virgin
  11. S/E : mi 6.9 - alt. 6,263 ft - Car park in the hamlet of Pierre Grosse

Notes

Markings are generally yellow lines.
Plenty of signposts indicating directions or locations (e.g. Pont du Moulin).

Worth a visit

Village of Saint Véran, old buildings with traditional architecture, the oldest of which is over 215 years old, fountains, mission crosses.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.6 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 9481741

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I went on this lovely walk with my little dog on 17 May 2026.

Between point 2 and point 4, a sign prohibits access, but I went there anyway and I’m glad I did: there’s no sign when coming from the other direction, apart from a landslide, so it works both ways.

WARNING: there are 4 or 5 mountain dogs at point 9.

I saw them and, more importantly, heard them from a distance, so we turned back at point 7. Despite everything, it was a superb walk with the marmots keeping watch.

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Louis Cara
Louis Cara

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A lovely outing, highly recommended.

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nadvl
nadvl

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A short route to explore the hamlets.
Very pleasant and a good way to stretch your legs when you arrive in the afternoon before tackling the longer hikes the next day.

No need for a satnav. Just cross the river at the right place and you can see everything.

And there's a nice bar for a snack in Pierre Grosse: Le Vis'O

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JFObama
JFObama

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Another way to discover Saint Veran in a more intimate setting.

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Zou48
Zou48

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 11, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike without much difficulty. We extended the route by going to Fontgillarde, following the Aigue Agnelle and returning to Pierre Grosse via the small road, which was fairly quiet on this Sunday morning.
There were lots of flowers in June. The climb to Saint-Véran from Pont du Moulin is a little steep.

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FLEURPATOU
FLEURPATOU

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a lovely walk through fields of flowers, no difficulty at all. I recommend it

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Philippe Degeye
Philippe Degeye

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

No problems along the way. Great place just outside St Véran. Les Marmottes—delicious.

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MCG
MCG

As Visorando walks are not signposted, it is difficult to follow the route.

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camino38
camino38

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant, easy family hike. The Queyras region at this time of year, with all the larch trees ablaze with colour, offers magnificent views.

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Loutren
Loutren

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

ùm

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patricklef50
patricklef50

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Beautiful views of the village of St Véran. At this time of year, many fields are in bloom, including martagon lilies
A pleasant, easy walk that allows you to visit the village where the rooster pecks at the stars.

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Guyjeff
Guyjeff

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

An easy hike in the autumn rain and mist. Beautiful view of the snow-capped peaks of Queyras. Deserted village, supernatural landscape of crosses, we are at the end of the world. On the way down, an unexpected encounter with a sheepdog. We didn't have time to see him coming, he had already jumped the fence. A few barks and sniffs later, we were safely on our way along a beautiful path carpeted with larch needles.

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feline0805
feline0805

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice, easy hike

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JenFi
JenFi

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A pleasant family walk. We did it when we arrived to stretch our legs.

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marayney
marayney

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 03, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A lovely, easy walk along a beautiful mountain stream!

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