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Park in the car park at the end of the Haute Vallée de Névache, which is the Laval car park.
(S/E) From the roundabout at the Laval car park, head east towards the ruins of a shepherd's shelter. Join a path that goes around a small hillock to the south and crosses the Ruisseau de Saint-Jacques, still heading east, before climbing towards the bed of the Torrent de Cula; it is quickly marked with bright yellow circles. The path veers northeast to climb through blueberry bushes. Continue along this path to reach the footbridge over the Torrent de Cula.
(1) Cross the footbridge and follow a vague cairned path heading south-east, almost level (stay above the cairns). Shortly after a slightly marshy area (IGN elevation 2262m), leave the contour line and climb across the slope, still heading south-east. If you reach rocky escarpments, do not attempt to cross them, but climb up to the left, which is steeper, through the grass. This will take you to the wideGR® de Pays du Tour du Mont Thabor trail, marked in red and yellow.
(2) Step onto the trail and veer right towards the south, following it to the Replate crossroads.
(3) At the junction, follow the signpost towards Lac du Serpent. The trail climbs eastwards and quickly reaches Lac Laramon.
(4) Go around Laramon off the trail to the right to enjoy the reflections of the Cerces in its waters and rejoin the main trail at the northern end of the lake (IGN elevation 2385m). Continue on the trail, which climbs quite steeply to the east to reach Lac du Serpent shortly after a plateau streaked with shepherds' walls.
(5) Also bypass the lake on the right off the trail to enjoy the view; large boulders form a playground to the south-east of the lake, and it takes a bit of trial and error to cross them. After crossing the lake's tributary (the Ruisseau des Gardioles), head north up the slope to rejoin the main trail that climbs towards the Pic du Lac Blanc. The trail climbs steeply northwards and reaches a small plateau at the end of a well-rounded glacial cirque (IGN elevation 2665m, see this photo - note that it was taken in the opposite direction, from a higher point).
(6) Small cairns line the often dry bed of the Ruisseau de la Gardiole, while the main trail climbs higher on the right, along the side of the slope. Leave this main trail to follow the cairns and the stream bed to reach Lac des Gardioles.
(7) Lac des Gardioles is not named on the IGN map. Go around the lake on the right and follow the bed of its northern tributary to reach Lac Supérieur des Gardioles, also unnamed on the IGN map, above the IGN elevation of 2688m.
(8) Go around the lake on the right (again to enjoy the reflections of the Écrins mountain range in its waters), and head west, following the stream that flows onto the plateau. This will take you to a small lake that the IGN associates with a cross that I have never seen (if you see this cross, please take a photo and post it in the comments! - updated on 14 October 2018: Denis informs me that the cross - see his photo - is actually marked on the ground and can even be seen in satellite photos).
(9) Go around this lake on the right and cross its outlet to descend south-southwest towards the lake clearly visible below. This last lake, the largest of the Gardioles lakes, is the Lac Inférieur des Gardioles.
(10) Stay on the eastern shore of the lake to go around it on the left (for once) and find a path that seems to lead to a tiny lake below (visible on the IGN map near the 2552m contour line - see photo). Descend this path southwards towards this small lake. The path veers southwest before reaching the small lake. Continue to follow it (it sometimes disappears into the grass or scree, but a few small cairns show the way) on a very gentle descent.
Reach a large rock in the grass below the path (photo) where the slope becomes a little steeper.
(11) Turn 90º to the right at this large rock and leave the path to descend west-northwest towards theGR® de Paystrail taken on the way up. If you reach rocky foothills, do not try to climb over them, but turn sharply to the left to descend the slope and go around them from below.
This will take you to theGR® de Pays trail at roughly the same point where you joined it on the way there.
(2) Do not follow theGR®, but continue descending south-west to take the same route as on the way up. Pass by large piles of stones (the shepherds have cleared the mountain pastures) before crossing the slightly marshy area that precedes the cairned path leading to the footbridge over the Ruisseau de Cula. On the way, take a look at the shepherd's shelter under a large rock.
(1) Cross the footbridge over the Ruisseau de Cula and turn left, southwest, to descend along the stream. This will take you to the Laval car park (S/E).
Visorando member
Very difficult 
Difficult 
