Country:
City:
At the entrance to the village of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans (hamlet of La Ville), take the road on the right at the first hairpin bend and follow the signs for Le Clot.
Just before the hamlet of Le Clot, park in the car park on the right. The trail starts from this car park.
(S/E) Take the path leading to the hamlet, which continues as a trail passing behind the few houses. Ignore the path climbing up to the left.
The path is fairly flat at first, then descends steeply towards the bed of the Vénéon, which you cross via a wooden bridge resting on stone pillars. Be careful, the path is very wet whatever the season!
Continue along the path on the other side of the bridge, climbing a fairly steep slope to the next junction.
(1) Take the path on the left signposted, amongst other things, Vallon de la Lavey. This path follows the course of the stream, gradually climbing.
(2) Take the path on the right, also signposted Vallon de la Lavey (the path on the left will be used for the return journey). A fairly steep climb then begins, continuing through the woodland until you reach the Souchey huts.
(3) The end of the toughest section and arrival at the Souchey huts. The path emerges from the forest and, at this point, the Vallon de la Lavey, criss-crossed by the Muande stream, really begins. Continue along the path to the next junction.
(4) Continue straight ahead (the path on the left, crossing the small stone bridge, will be taken on the return journey).
The path climbs gently up to the gate, behind which lies the Lavey refuge.
(5) The Lavey refuge is staffed in summer but remains open the rest of the year for hikers wishing to spend the night there.
Walk past the refuge and continue straight on, staying on the left bank of the Muande torrent.
(6) Continue straight on. A sign prohibits access to the path leading uphill to the right.
(7) There is no footbridge allowing easy crossing of the stream; so start now to look out for strategic crossing points to reach the other bank. The stream’s course varies greatly from year to year and from season to season.
(8) Once you have crossed the stream and rejoined the path, continue up the valley to pass the final barrier and discover the panorama of this glacial cirque.
(9) After taking in the stunning views, turn back and begin the descent.
(8) Continue along the right bank of the Muande torrent.
(10) Ignore the path on the right and continue straight down.
(11) Take the path on the left which leads to the (permanent) footbridge over the Muande, then to the Lavey refuge
(5) From the refuge, descend via the route taken on the way up.
(4) Take the path on the right which crosses the stream again via a magnificent little stone arch bridge.
Continue straight along this path, always heading downhill, ignoring all the paths coming in from the right.
(12) At the Raja huts, pass between the few alpine chalets and begin the steeper descent towards the Vénéon.
(13) Take the path on the left leading to the large stone bridge over the Vénéon.
(14) Just before the bridge (which you must not cross), take the path on the left which crosses the Muande torrent via a wooden footbridge and follows the Vénéon.
From there, the path climbs back up through the forest to the next junction, even though logic would suggest it should follow the course of the Vénéon on the descent...
(2) Return to the path taken on the way up and follow it downhill to the footbridge over the Vénéon, then to the hamlet of Le Clot and finally to the car park where you started (S/E).
Visorando Member
Difficult 
