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Park your car in the large car park at the entrance to Ville Haute de Névache. Cars are not allowed in the hamlet.
(S/E) On foot, continue along the main road towards the church. Just after the church, take the street on the left that passes in front of the church entrance. I recommend taking a look inside the church to discover a magnificent Baroque altar for such a small church, and above all to admire its very old and beautifully carved doors. Further on, the street crosses the bridge over the Clarée. On the other side of the Clarée, follow the path on the right for 300 metres.
(1) Follow the path that branches off to the left into the larch trees, marked with a sign for "Lac Cristol". The path climbs moderately at first, then quite steeply, through the forest, which is not dense, however, allowing you to admire the magnificent landscape if you remember to turn around from time to time during the climb. You will come to a stream, the Ruisseau de Cristol.
(2) Cross the stream via the footbridge, find theGR®5Cand follow it to the right. TheGR® quickly leaves the forest and leads across a plateau to Lac de Cristol.
(3) Leave theGR® and, before reaching the lake shore, take a path on the right which, after running alongside the lake on the left, climbs for about a hundred metres. You will come to another small lake, Lac Rond, then continue in the same direction to rejoin theGR®5C. You will soon reach the Porte de Cristol, which rises to 2,483 metres. This gate overlooks the Crête de la Gardiole and offers a magnificent view towards the Écrins.
(4) Turn around. Leave the path towards Lac Rond taken on the way up and descend to Lac de Cristol following theGR®5C.
(3) Take the same path as on the way up to the intersection with the uphill path, near the footbridge.
(2) Continue on theGR®5C, heading east then north-east. The trail remains at the same altitude for just over a kilometre, until you reach a sign for "Lac de L'Oule, Col de l'Oule". TheGR®57joins theGR®5Cat this point.
(5) Continue on theGR®5Cin the same direction, ignoring the direction of Lac de l'Oule. Begin a somewhat long and stony descent, but with a beautiful view of the Clarée valley. Follow theGR® without deviating until you reach the bottom of the valley, cross a branch of the Clarée, then arrive at a second, larger bridge.
(6) Just before the bridge that leads to the road, turn left, heading east, onto the grassy path that runs alongside a dense hedge. The hedge hides the hamlet of Ville Basse and the road. Leave another bridge on your right that leads to the road and continue along the small path. It runs alongside the Clarée and becomes narrow, then ends in a grassy meadow. Reach the bridge in front of you and cross it to return to Ville Haute by the same route you took on the way there. Pass in front of the church and then reach the car park at the entrance to the hamlet via the main street (S/E).
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