Circuit of the 3 passes: Aliènard, Tracol and Ruchère

In the land of silence of the Grande Chartreuse Monastery, an easy and very pleasant walk in all seasons.

Details

102912
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.61 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 5h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 798 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 797 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,510 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 805 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Park in the Pont des Allemands car park on the access road to La Correrie.

(S/E) Head north on the track closed to vehicles that leads to the Grande Chartreuse monastery and follow it until you reach it.

(1) Continue left and follow the track to the bridge over the Ruisseau de Saint-Bruno. Cross it and continue slightly uphill in a south-westerly direction.

(2) Go through the short tunnel before reaching a large crossroads. Turn right, heading north, and follow a quiet path to Habert de Billon, a large building overlooking the mountain pasture.

(3) Head right, in the centre of the meadow, towards the Col de la Ruchère and, after about 100 metres, ignore the path that continues straight ahead (marker) and turn left onto the path towards the woods that leads to the Col de l'Aliénard (please note that this path is clearly visible on the ground but much less so on the IGN map; it is not highlighted, only marked with black dashes). You will reach the Col de l'Aliénard.

(4) Begin a short descent that ends at the false pass of Tracol and rejoin theGRP®® du Tour de Chartreuse.

(5) Take it on the right and quickly reach the third pass, the Col de la Ruchère, a five-way crossroads.

(6) Opposite, descend into the meadow and take the path south until you reach the edge of a wood. Continue down a short but steep descent until you reach the fork at Bourdoire.

(7) Turn right and head towards the Chapelle de Notre-Dame de Casalibus.

(8) Shortly afterwards, you will come to a wide track. Follow it, passing a large water reservoir, and continue south until you reach the crossroads at the Ruisseau Saint-Bruno bridge.

(1) Then retrace your steps to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 805 m - Parking at the Pont des Allemands
  2. 1 : km 0.88 - alt. 921 m - Couvent de la Grande Chartreuse
  3. 2 : km 2.25 - alt. 1,049 m - Tunnel
  4. 3 : km 4.21 - alt. 1,279 m - Habert du Billon
  5. 4 : km 5.51 - alt. 1,500 m - Col de l'Aliénard
  6. 5 : km 6.49 - alt. 1,415 m - Tracol
  7. 6 : km 7.36 - alt. 1,419 m - Col de la Ruchère
  8. 7 : km 8.39 - alt. 1,256 m - Bourdoire
  9. 8 : km 8.82 - alt. 1,191 m - Notre Dame de Casalibus
  10. S/E : km 11.61 - alt. 806 m - Parking at the Pont des Allemands

Notes

Water is present in the Habert de Billon ponds.

Worth a visit

Visit the rooms open to the public at the Grande Chartreuse monastery.
La Correrie, where the Chartreux shop awaits you.
Saint Pierre de Chartreuse.
Visit the museum

Reviews and comments

4.3 / 5
Based on 39 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.5 / 5
User 2356653

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful route. Forest and plains, with a brief history of the monastery along the way

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Denis26
Denis26 ★

Thank you, Paul GARILLON, for clarifying that. I have just updated the file accordingly.

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Paul GARILLON
Paul GARILLON

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

High traffic only from the Col de la Ruchère.
The description needs a few changes:
(1): Stay on this track, turn left at the crossroads and continue...
(3): Head towards..., after about 100 metres, ignore the path that branches off to the right (marker) and continue straight ahead along a faint path towards the woods... clearly visible on the ground "after the fence" but...
(6): Take the road opposite... but be careful on the steep descent. "At Bourdoire, turn right" to reach...
In addition, the GPX track makes an unnecessary detour via the Habert de Billon, which complicates the description (reconnaissance on 30/06).
NB: at the Col de l'Aliénard, a short detour to the right off the trail offers an interesting view, but it's worth the effort.

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bernardino
bernardino ★

Hello and thank you for your latest comment. In order to improve the description and also the reliability of the route, could you please let me know which points need to be revised and clarified.
Thank you for your feedback.

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User 25786445

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Topo unusable

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Josiane Clement
Josiane Clement

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 06, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

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cathycoco
cathycoco
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

snowshoe hike in beautiful sunshine with stunning views
we did the loop in the opposite direction, climbing up to the Col de la Ruchère
a beautiful day back at the monastery

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Cécile Briant
Cécile Briant

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful walk, mostly through the forest with a few open sections and lovely views, especially at this time of year with the autumn colours coming through. The paths are mostly easy to walk on despite the very wet ground. We didn't see many people and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The climb is steady at the start, without being too steep. We did the whole walk in three hours, stopping for a few breaks.

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Perivolas
Perivolas

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

nice walk.

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carossine
carossine

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 18, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Great hike, clear route even though I did it alone, and beautiful view from the top! At this time of year, bring a scarf and gloves, especially for the climb. The summit was particularly busy.

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foudetrek
foudetrek

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A varied and very pleasant route. We didn't use the description but followed the GPX track, which was fairly accurate overall.

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bernardino
bernardino ★

Hello, and first of all, sorry about the mishap at the Allemands car park. Unfortunately, this isn't the only place where this type of mishap happens. Hiking car parks, especially those at the start of well-known trails, are prime locations for this type of theft.
For the hike at (3), you do indeed need to turn left as mentioned shortly after the Habert du Billon to head towards the woods.
For (6), I have also corrected the directions by specifying the important crossroads, mentioning to go straight ahead downhill into the meadow and head for the nearby woods.

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Soize
Soize

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Firstly, we parked in the car park at the Pont des Allemands and found the front window of our car smashed and the boot emptied of all our belongings when we returned (my rucksack for the weekend, a handbag, a full travel bag and a cool box were all missing). The locals (at the restaurant and lodge) confirmed that cars are broken into and emptied in this car park every holiday.

As for the hike, on the positive side:
- it was a leisurely 5½-hour hike, including an hour for a picnic, with plenty of breaks to drink (the average temperature yesterday was 31°C), getting lost two or three times and stopping to see the two chapels at the end of the trail
- the hike was mainly under trees, which is nice at this time of year
- two or three pretty views of the Petit Som and another unidentified mountain at point 6
- passed by the magnificent Grande Chartreuse building

On the downside (your opinion may vary depending on what you're looking for in a hike):
- between points 1 and 2, there is a section of tarmac road and forest road where we encountered four cars that were not driving slowly
- at Habert de Billon, despite the description and comments, we also had trouble finding the right path. We turned into the field, tried all the paths and finally found the trail ^^. If you want to follow the trail: when you can see Habert de Billon, you will come to a fork with a path that branches off to the left towards the habert and a path that continues straight ahead into what looks like a wood: take the path towards the wood. About 50 metres after this fork, head towards the sign showing all the walks in the area and take the only direction where no walk is indicated, towards the forest. The path is not very visible
- we also got confused at point 6: the direction "Notre Dame de Casalibus" is not indicated on the signs (and I didn't know how to identify south :/). When you are facing the sign, take the path that goes down to the right.

In summary: a moderately enjoyable walk but with some nice views. Great for stretching your legs when it's hot.

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geai47
geai47
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

We followed the recommended route, adding a small detour at the start that takes you to Habert de Chartrousette and its pretty fountain...

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maryse14
maryse14

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : Not used / Not applicable
Very busy route : Yes

We followed the route to Habert de Billon, then (like many others) lost track of the path up to the Col d'Aliénard, so we took the Col de la Ruchère trail, which turned out to be a good decision: a beautiful walk through the Prairies de la Folie! As a result, we missed two passes! On the way down, we made a detour to see the two chapels of Casalibus and Saint Bruno (site of the first monastery), and to get back down from the monastery to the car park, we took the main avenue of La Chartreuse (instead of taking the Saint Bruno path as we had done on the way up): a little longer and busier but very pretty (a 5-minute drive back down to the car park ? In total, a 4½-hour walk and a very beautiful route !

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