Lac de Roue walks

The Tour du Queyras, labelledGR®58, is adaptable. The route described, starting from Château Queyras and completed in a group in September 2008, will take you through this natural park, skirting and climbing some 3,000 metres. You will discover the beautiful villages of this park with their well-known names: Ceillac, Saint Véran, Abriés... What's more, in summer the weather is almost always fine. The bright blue sky the next day will quickly make you forget the storm of the previous evening.

This is the first stage of the tour and is an adaptation as the route is not on theGR®58, but it allows you to visit the castle that dominates the Guil pass. (Please note) The Montbardon stopover lodge (Le Cadran Solaire) has been closed since 2018, so the best option from Château Queyras is to go directly to Ceillac via the Col Fromage. (Important note): See this website mentioning the reopening of this lodge for summer 2023.

Instead of taking the ‘classic’ ascent via the forest road, opt for a route that climbs more steeply and features much more technical single-track sections – this will give you a good warm-up for the descent towards Les Granges de Furfande, then on to Le Queyron and finally back to Arvieux. I’ve only described the ascent route here. For the descent, use the Col de Furfande route guide , described by morgiou13, available at (2). Given the difficulty of the climb (steep sections and tight, steep hairpin bends), this route is best suited to e-MTBs.

This fourteenth stage completes the crossing of the Queyras Massif. From La Chalp, the GR® 5 climbs along the left bank of the Torrent de l’Izoard above Arvieux, then reaches the hamlet of Les Maisons. From there, it heads towards Lac de Roue before descending to Château-Queyras. The route climbs the steep slope on the opposite side, on the right bank of the Torrent de Bramousse, joins a road at a hairpin bend and leaves it at the next one. It continues through the torrent’s valley, reaches the ridge separating the Bramousse and Riou Vert valleys, and, hugging the hillside beneath the peaks of La Selle and Rasis, reaches the Col Fromage. The path descends along the right bank of the Ravin de Rasis to reach Le Villard before arriving at Ceillac, from where it follows the Torrent du Mélezet, alternating between the left and right banks, before reaching the Refuge de la Cime du Mélezet.

The second stage allows you to discover the observation post on the Crête des Grangettes.

The walk mostly follows a ridge above the Guil valley between Aiguilles and Ville-Vieille. We recommend returning via the free shuttle bus, which runs between Château-Queyras and L’Échalp.

This is the first stage of this journey, half in Queyras and half in Ubaye. Follow the right bank of the Aigue Blanche, then continue along the Col de Saint-Véran trail, before enjoying a beautiful descent that leads to the lake and the Refuge de la Blanche.

Via the Grand Canal, now completely disused, a long crossing opposite the Grande Tête des Toillies, ending at the Refuge de la Blanche and then at the observatory car park.

This serves as an introduction to a cross-border trek between Saint-Véran and Larche. We set off from the mountain pastures for a gentle approach to the border, through a rocky and colourful landscape that can at times be quite disorientating. There are no real difficulties, but a good understanding of how to read the terrain is sometimes necessary to avoid losing your way.

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