Vallon de Chargès

de fr

A beautiful, wild valley to explore on a round trip. It's a fairly easy walk to the Cabane du Pré d'Antoni, after which it gets a little steeper. The scenery is superb from start to finish. It's also a well-known spot for spotting chamois.

Details

n°761930
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.56 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 6h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 932 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 927 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,208 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,466 m
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Photos

View from the highest point
Cabane du Pré d'Antoni
Saint-Marcellin Chapel

Description of the walk

Departure from the car park on the left bank of the Réallon torrent.

(S/E) From the car park, take the D241 and cross the Réallon torrent, then turn right towards the Maison du Parc at a place called Les Gouniers.

(1) Start the route and climb up to the Chapelle Saint-Marcellin.

(2) At the chapel, follow the stream, climbing gently to the Cabane du Pré d'Antoni.

(3) This is a very pretty spot to take a break by the stream. You may see marmots from here. Continue climbing along the stream.

(4) Leave the Chargès stream to climb up to the mountain pasture. The slope becomes steeper and you climb among herds of cows.

(5) At the Cabane de Chargès (private), you can enjoy a beautiful view of all the surrounding peaks.
Return via the same route in the opposite direction to the car park on the left bank of the Réallon torrent (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 1,466 m - Car park on the left bank of the torrent de - Réallon (torrent) - Affluent de la Durance
  2. 1 : km 0.41 - alt. 1,507 m - Start of the discovery trail
  3. 2 : km 2.21 - alt. 1,728 m - Saint-Marcellin Chapel
  4. 3 : km 4.3 - alt. 1,849 m - Cabane du Pré d'Antoni
  5. 4 : km 5.59 - alt. 1,960 m - Start of the mountain pasture
  6. 5 : km 6.73 - alt. 2,204 m - Cabane de Chargès (2206m)
  7. S/E : km 13.56 - alt. 1,466 m - Car park on the left bank of the Réallon torrent.

Notes

You are hiking in the heart of the Écrins National Park.

The Écrins massif is an exceptional area, open to all, with rare natural, cultural and landscape heritage. To protect these treasures, the heart of the park is marked by blue, white and red flags, where regulations must be observed. Please familiarise yourself with these rules when planning your hike in order to preserve this collective asset, at https://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr.

Worth a visit

You can add the "discovery trail" at the start of the hike, in particular to see a giant's pot. Allow an extra 20 minutes for this.
This circular is directly accessible from the car park without crossing the stream.

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 10 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
stefaix
stefaix

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk.

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/adjedj
/adjedj

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike... With views of all the surrounding mountains and lots of marmots.
Impossible to get lost, even without a GPS or IGN map
I highly recommend it.

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dauphinois
dauphinois

Hello,
Constructive criticism is always welcome. However, I don't understand why you specify that it is not a circular route when it is clearly stated in the presentation and description that it is a round trip.

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CHABRAN
CHABRAN
• Edited:

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 28, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
First of all, this hike is not a circular route but an unmarked return trip.
Very few people take it, so the path is sometimes very poorly marked.
But it offers breathtaking views of the glacial cirque at the foot of Mourre Froid.
It's a shame that the Chargès hut isn't signposted. It's just marked "pastoral hut, leave in peace and let the shepherd work". Private.
I understand this perfectly well, but it's quite unusual.
So I turned back so as not to disturb the numerous herds of cows.
A magnificent day.

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lilouwe
lilouwe

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Round trip to the bottom of the valley completed in 5 hours with few breaks.
The valley is cool in the morning because it is in the shade.
On Thursday mornings, a park ranger is available at the chapel to talk about wildlife and sets up a telescope.
We met many people on the way down the first part of the trail. For the rest, only two people.

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vincentlc
vincentlc

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

I really liked this valley, it was quite green, but I think it would have been even better for flowers in June.
And as it's a valley, it's normal not to be able to see far into the distance!

No technical difficulties (nice logs to cross the stream) or for finding your way.

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Sticot
Sticot
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, but stopping at the chalet leaves us feeling a little unsatisfied.
There are no technical or navigation difficulties on this route.
Photos taken during the hike https://www.instagram.com/p/CAuVCaMA5HF/

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Fazer13
Fazer13

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 20, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

There is no point in climbing up to the shepherd's private hut.

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la barrutlaire
la barrutlaire

Superb hike. Unfortunately, 8 July was two weeks too late to see the mountain orange with its orange lilies in bloom. However, there were still a few left for us to enjoy.

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christine-aix
christine-aix

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 27, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike that offers the opportunity (at the end of June) to see orange lilies along three-quarters of the route.

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GUILLERMOU
GUILLERMOU

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 19, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The best ones went all the way to the end, while the others stopped at the hut in the Antoni meadow and enjoyed the surroundings of the stream.

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Véronique V
Véronique V

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The route becomes really beautiful from the Antoni meadow hut onwards. The colours and light are stunning at the start of autumn.

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