Col de l'Enclave and Col de Landron

Start from the car park in the hamlet of Les Cheneviers in the commune of Thorens-Glières.

(S/E) From the car park (altitude 1090m), take the track suitable for vehicles, signposted “Champ Laitier”. The path is quite steep at the start. A little further up, follow “Col de l’Enclave” (wooden sign). You will come across another “Col de l’Enclave” sign further up. The forest is already magnificent; the beech trees are particularly beautiful, their leaves resembling giant pieces of amber. Some spruce trees are impressively tall, although not all are in the best of health (bark beetle?). Raspberry bushes accompany you for a while along the track. There is no shortage of moisture and the ground is lavishly carpeted with moss, leaves, broken branches, stumps and a multitude of mushrooms of all kinds colonising the terrain.

(1) Once you reach ‘La Croisée’, at an altitude of 1,377m, turn right towards Champ Laitier. Gradually, on your right, you’ll get a lovely view of the cliffs at the eastern end of the Enclave, the plain of the Thorens-Glières region and, above all, the Parmelan, the Tête de Bunant and the Plan de l’Aigle. The colours of the trees are magnificent on the southern slopes of the Enclave, with Usillon below. The slope levels off and, after a short flat section, still on the track, you emerge from the forest to reach a mountain pasture; descend to the Col de Landron, at 1,583m. There is a lovely view of the Montagne des Frêtes, the Arêtes de Dran and the Arêtes du Sapey (Montagne des Auges) and, in the distance, the Aravis and Mont Blanc; to your right, the pyramid of La Tête (1,767m). If you continue straight on, you can reach Champ Laitier (with the option of heading to the Montagne des Frêtes and the Glières plateau).

(2) At the Col de Landron (alt. 1,583m), turn right (signposted ‘Usillon via Le Balcon’) onto the ‘path’ that crosses the mountain pasture. The going is a bit boggy in places, with a few colchicum flowers brightening up the route. Just before the edge of the forest, a colony of fly agaric mushrooms (Amanita muscaria) has taken up residence. You continue through an enchanting forest, soon reaching the cliffside. The tree species follow one another, each more beautiful than the last: spruce trees in tight rows casting a rather subdued light; pines growing on sheer rocks, sometimes right through them; alders whose leaves are beginning to fade; beech trees dazzling with colour and their characteristic smooth trunks; dead trees (yet they have a second life!) with surreal silhouettes; single-coloured maples soon to be bare; hazel bushes in disarray…

You make your way up a fairly steep slope, crossing several beautiful scree slopes; the forest thins out and you reach ‘Molliet’, at an altitude of 1,470m.

(3) Continue to the right, towards Col de l’Enclave. The path continues along the edge of scree slopes dotted with a few scattered shrubs, running alongside superb cliffs. A beautiful view opens up of the Pierre Taillée and the Enclave straight ahead, the Parmelan, Usillon below and the plain to the west. You re-enter the forest where the path continues more or less level; the leaves carpet the ground harmoniously. A few short sections can be quite slippery, particularly when crossing two streams, including the Plagne. After the stretch consisting solely of spruce trees, you reach ‘Les Grands Taillis’, 1,410m.

(4) Continue towards the Col de l’Enclave. The path becomes steeper and winds sharply to the right, along the cliffs of the Enclave. After a short, rather wild stretch with lovely trees, you’ll soon reach the Col de l’Enclave (1,495m); a herd of chamois is sometimes seen on the grassy hillock behind the little hut.

(5) From the pass, turn left immediately after the small cottage (signposted ‘Les Cheneviers’). The path descends quite steeply through the forest, winding slightly over fairly slippery ground. A little further down, you reach the track at the ‘Ancien Chemin’, at an altitude of 1,420m. Turn left, following the ‘Les Cheneviers’ sign, and head back down this section of the path you took on the way up to reach the car park (S/E).