The Chalets of Ratière

Coming from Briançon, turn left at the crossroads, pass the Aldi shop and park opposite the La Rochette housing estate.

(S/E) Continue along the road, following the sign for Sachas; this road forms part of the^GR®653D(the route from Montgenèvre to Arles, known as the Way of St James via the Domitian Way). You will reach a crossroads.

(1) Leave the^GR®653Don your left, stay on the road, and pass through junctions2 and 3, ignoring the footpaths. Continue along the road until you reach the junction just before the hamlet of Sachas.

(4) Leave the road to the left and rejoin it at a wooden hut.

(5) Walk past a wayside shrine, staying on the path running parallel to the road. You’ll reach the junction by the Piolier chalets.

(6) Continue to the right, then join a path on the left.

(7) Take this to cut across the bend and reach the green gate at a wide track.

(8) Turn right onto this track, which climbs steeply before joining a much flatter path through the forest. Cross the road again and walk past another wayside shrine.

(9) Continue along this path and, after a final gentle climb, reach the hamlet of Ratière.

(10) Begin the descent along the track, then join the path you took on the way up on the left, which leads back to the wayside shrine.

(9) Follow the route you took on the way up to the junction cutting across the bend.

(7) Take the path on the left which leads back to the road.

(5) Continue to the left, which allows you to cut across the road and rejoin it.

(4). Then take the path on the left rather than the road, rejoining it directly opposite the power line.

(3) Join the road again and follow it to the large meadow on the left.

(2) Cross this meadow – initially on open ground – then follow a clear path which leads back to the road.

(1) Continue to the left to return to the car park.

This round-trip route to the chalets, which are accessible by road, offers numerous shortcuts. It is advisable to take these, using either the map extract and GPS track, or the 1:25,000 map, as a guide. However, there is no reason to get lost here. You will always find your way back to the road, so if in doubt, simply follow it all the way to the end.
Water is available from the chalets’ fountains.
Hiking equipment.
From Ratière, you’ll enjoy a remarkable view over the Durance valley and the nearby mountains to the east, dominated by the Pic de Peyre Eyraute.
Further to the north-east, the Chaberton, at an altitude of 3,131 metres, majestically overlooks this border region.

The classic routes here:
Briançon.
Ski resorts: Serre Chevalier, Montgenèvre, Puy Saint Vincent, Vallouise, Pelvoux and Montgenèvre at the foot of the Chaberton.