Le Tour du Char des Quais

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A lovely little hike through the mountain pastures with views of Roc d'Enfer, Mont Blanc and the Swiss Alps.

Details

n°829589
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 6.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 40 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 288 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 279 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 1,676 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,431 m
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Photos

Col de la Basse
A cow
At milking time
Vache

Description of the walk

Access by car:
Coming from Thonon or Évian, at the Saint-Jean-d'Aulp exit, heading towards Morzine, take the D328 towards Essert-Romand, then La Côte-d'Arbroz to the Col de l'Encrenaz. Park in the car park on the left as you arrive.

(S/E) Take a north-facing path behind the "Encrenaz Bar" building complex. Follow it for 50 metres.
At the hairpin bend to the left, take a path on the right that heads north-east and climbs in two hairpin bends, left then right. Follow the path, which levels out and heads north-north-east towards the hamlet of Les Chosals and La Marée dessus (altitude 1,491 m). From there, follow the path straight ahead, which climbs north-east.

(1) At the fork, bear left and head north. The path levels out, heads west-northwest and descends to "Platenet". Continue downhill, turning right then left to head west-northwest. After a wide right turn and a short climb to the east, and after crossing several streams, you will arrive at the hamlet of Les Pâquis.

(2) Without entering the hamlet, take the path on the left that leads west. Follow this path uphill, then, via a hairpin bend to the right and left, reach elevation 1544. Follow the path, which, via two short hairpin bends to the right and left, heads southwest to reach elevation 1648.

(3) Do not go to the wide path but turn left onto the ridge, taking a path that descends, heading south and running parallel to the wide path on the left. Continue to the Col de la Basse.

(4) Follow a wide grassy path on the left, made by vehicle tracks on the slope, heading south-southeast and towards a flat area.

(5) Turn left into the meadows, heading north-east then east to reach the summit.

(6) Descend via the same route to Col de la Basse.

(4) Turn left and descend through the meadow towards the wide path. Then turn left towards the south. Follow the path that leads to the hamlet of L'Aup and passes by a photo spot.

(7). Continue along the path and pass the animal park gate (altitude 1,514 m). Turn right onto a wide path heading south-west (shop). After a left-hand bend, cross the hamlet of L'Aup and return to the Encrenaz car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,431 m - Car park just before the Col de l'Encrenaz
  2. 1 : km 1.14 - alt. 1,503 m - Fourche
  3. 2 : km 2.38 - alt. 1,479 m - Les Pâquis
  4. 3 : km 3.45 - alt. 1,645 m - Arête Col Ratti
  5. 4 : km 3.62 - alt. 1,636 m - Col de la Basse
  6. 5 : km 3.84 - alt. 1,667 m - Replat - Mont Blanc viewpoint
  7. 6 : km 3.98 - alt. 1,676 m - Le Char des Quais
  8. 7 : km 4.91 - alt. 1,578 m - Point de Vue Mont-Blanc
  9. S/E : km 6.56 - alt. 1,431 m - Car park just before the Col de l'Encrenaz

Notes

Ascent time: 1 hour 25 minutes, descent time: 40 minutes.

Wear good walking shoes. Walking sticks may be useful.

(S/E) You can fill up your water bottles at the fountain. After that, there are no water sources along the hike except at the Chosals chalet.

In bad weather, you can take shelter under the eaves of the chalets in the various hamlets you pass through. However, between the hamlet of Les Pâquis and the hamlet of L'Aup, there is no shelter and storms can be violent.

To better understand the local words:
Char: Refers to a small promontory.
Les Quais: Rumex-type plants that resemble spinach.
Les Pâquis: refers to meadows and pastures.
L'Encrenaz: refers to a breach, a notch or, in other words, a pass.

This route passes through multiple protected areas, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

At the Chalet des Chosals, there is a beautiful view of the Dents du Midi, Mont Ruan and the Tour Salière (in Switzerland).

Above the Col de la Basse (4), there is a beautiful view of the Roc d'Enfer, the Pointe de Chalune, the Pointe de Chavasse and the Pointe d'Uble.

At the plateau (5), there is a magnificent view of the Mont Blanc massif, with, from left to right: the Dent du Géant, the Aiguille du Midi, the Mont Blanc du Tacul, the Mont-Maudit, the Mont Blanc and the Dômes de Miage. You can also see the Pointe Percée, the highest point of the Aravis range.

At point (7), the same view as at point (5) but with the possibility of including cows from the mountain pastures in the photo (in season).

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 13 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.8 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
denisv70
denisv70

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

nice route. Beautiful views at the summit.

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Paradyse
Paradyse

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike done at the end of March, still a lot of snow so very difficult to progress without snowshoes
The amount of snow made the hike more difficult than it would have been in dry weather, I think

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Chafic
Chafic

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Hike completed with our 4- and 7-year-old children in just under 3 hours. The view of Mont Blanc is not to be missed. Otherwise, a hike with beautiful scenery alternating between woodland and exposed slopes (remember to bring sun cream).

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Veenie
Veenie

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike! Quite easy, with only one big climb.
Don't trust the time indicated by the app; it took me 1 hour and 40 minutes without really walking fast.

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tl6771
tl6771

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A really pleasant hike. The entire first part is shaded. The scenery is magnificent!
No particular difficulty regardless of age.

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Malicina
Malicina

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A fairly easy hike, but with a steep climb in the first part! Hikers are rewarded with magnificent scenery, with different views on each side, as well as cows or not in the landscape: very nice!
If you're hesitating about doing the return trip via the short route that climbs up to Char des Quais (points 5 and 6), make that final effort and you'll be rewarded with a superb view of Mont Blanc! After that, it's all downhill.

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Paul1946
Paul1946

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Beautiful hike. Easy
Magnificent scenery on arrival at the Col de la Basse and on the descent to L'Aulps

approximately 2 hours

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Yves Grandjean
Yves Grandjean

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The description of the route works very well from point No. 3 Arête Col Ratti. Before that, it is unclear how to reach the hamlet of Les Pâquis (point No. 2). From La Fourche (point No. 1), we followed a wide path that led us directly to the hamlet of Les Pâquis without crossing the small streams mentioned. From the hamlet, we had to climb up through the pastures below Roc d'Enfer to go around a small wood and follow our bearings until we found the path that led us to Col Ratti.

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pwetml
pwetml
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant hike, not very busy and far from mountain bikes, 4x4s and other users of the paths near the ski lifts.
The most important thing not to be missed is the climb above the Col de Basse on the Char des Quais, where the superb view of Mont Blanc rewards walkers for their efforts.

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Michel lacroix
Michel lacroix

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 31, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with beautiful views.

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chou-chou
chou-chou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike, as always, the view is worth it.
As the Encrenaz Pass was closed, I started lower down with a 3 km approach and 5 km return.

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pierol
pierol

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely little hike with magnificent views!

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pportier
pportier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 01, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike, not very long, relatively easy and offering beautiful views.
The description is perfect, very detailed and, above all, very useful (especially at the start) as there are no signs along the route.

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