Col Girardin walks

A beautiful loop allowing you to visit these different lakes as well as the Tête de Girardin.

The passage between the two departments of Alpes de Haute Provence and Hautes Alpes is via the famousGR®5, which supports theGRP® of the Tour de la Font Sancte on this section.

Recently created, this 3-day tour connects three valleys well known to all hikers: the Cristillan valley in Queyras, the Rif Bel valley in Val d'Escreins and finally the Ubaye valley.

Here is a simple 4-day route that alternates between Queyras and Ubaye, starting from the hamlet of Cros before Saint-Véran. The Queyras valley will be the first stop for a night by Lac de la Blanche at the refuge of the same name. The route through Ubaye will take you over the Col de la Noire before descending to the hamlet of Maljasset. You will return to Queyras on day 3 via the Col Girardin before returning to the starting point via the Col des Estronques on the fourth day.

A stage of the Queyras Alpine crossing to reach the Haute Ubaye Valley, including a section via Lake Sainte-Anne and the Col Girardin.

From La Barge, this walk offers a lovely climb up to the Col Girardin, with marmots and incredible views. A short descent allows you to enjoy a lunch break above Lac Sainte-Anne. Then a climb back up to the pass to reach the Tête de Girardin, which offers a magnificent panorama of both valleys.

This fifteenth stage crosses the Escreins massif (not to be confused with the Écrins massif) and, via the Ubaye valley, enters the Chambeyron valley. From the Refuge de la Cime, the route—off the GR®5—crosses the Torrent du Mélezet valley and climbs up the Pré Girardin valley via the ski runs; then, on the plateau, it skirts the rocky ridge overlooking Lac Miroir, reaches the lake and rejoins the GR®5. The route climbs up the valley between the shoulder of the Pic des Heuvières and the Crête de Coste Belle, passing the small pass of Sainte-Anne and then the lake of the same name before reaching the Col Girardin. It descends towards a basin, where the Torrent des Séchoirs has its source, and follows it. Clinging to the side of a steep slope, it joins the D25 road in the upper Ubaye valley and continues downstream, alternating between the road and paths close to the river. It leaves the D25 for the Fouillouse road, passes the vertiginous Pont du Châtelet, a tunnel and, via a path, reaches the hamlet of Fouillouse.

Return to Queyras by crossing the Col Girardin via a path that starts off quite steep but then levels out before ending with large hairpin bends that finish at the pass. This is followed by a long descent past the lakes, which reflect the famous Font Sancte, the highest point in Queyras.