Lac de Serre-Ponçon 5-day Mountain Bike Tour

5 steps

1. Baratier

   From the Embrun lake to Savines-le-Lac

   History and architecture

   Lake and glacier

   • Hard
   • 4h
   • 21,4km
   • +988m
2. Savines-le-Lac

   From Savines-le-Lac to Le Lauzet-Ubaye

   History and architecture

   Panorama

   Pastoralism

   • Hard
   • 5h
   • 29km
   • +1340m
3. Le Lauzet-Ubaye

   From Lauzet-Ubaye to Rousset

   Geology

   History and architecture

   Panorama

   • Medium
   • 4h
   • 33,2km
   • +955m
4. Rousset

   From Rousset to Chorges

   Lake and glacier

   Panorama

   Pass

   • Hard
   • 5h
   • 30,9km
   • +1178m
5. Chorges

   From Chorges to Embrun

   History and architecture

   Panorama

   • Hard
   • 4h30
   • 40km
   • +1142m

7 points of interest

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  Water

  Addos mountain stream

  The Addos mountain stream (torrent in French) is 4 kilometres long. A mountain stream is a natural water course located in the mountains. The flow regime is characterised by a steep gradient, with a very fast and therefore turbulent water flow producing significant erosion. It is also defined by a significant variation in flow rate depending on precipitation levels. In this mountain stream, as in many others, numerous small sills (small dams) have been created to slow down the water flow and limit the impact of floods.

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  Vernacular heritage

  Chapel of St-Jacques

  Located in Chanteloube, this church is through to date back to 1510. It has retained all its authenticity, with its exposed stone. It is dedicated to Saint James, one of the 12 apostles and one of the first martyrs of the Catholic church. Its recent restoration has made it possible to hold the traditional celebrations there, in honour of Saint James. The purpose of each one is to commemorate a historical event connected with the saint. When he died, he was taken to Compostella in Spain, hence the name of the pilgrim's Way of Saint James to Santiago de Compostella, a religious route passing along the shores of the Serre-Ponçon lake.

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  Fauna

  Common magpie

  This bird can be identified by its black and white plumage with blue-green tints on the wings and tail. Its tail is remarkably long. It can be found all year round in varied open environments. Its omnivorous diet consists of invertebrates, seeds and berries, small rodents, eggs and nestlings and even human rubbish. Except during the nesting period when it is solitary, the magpie is gregarious species which gathers into rather raucous groups in the winter.

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  Flora

  Common juniper

  This bush is a resinous evergreen conifer. It is characterised by its greenish to blue (glaucous) needles with a white line on their upper side, and fruits resembling blue-black berries. It usually tends to grow in warm environments receiving plenty of sunlight. It grows in grassy or scrub covered areas up to 2,000 metres above sea level.

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  Fauna

  The field cricket

  Just 18 to 26 mm long, this little insect has a black head which looks a little like a helmet. The female can be told apart from the male by the presence of a third long appendage at the rear of the body. The cricket’s song is heard from April onwards. The male sings his chirping song from the entrance to his burrow. The fertile females lay their eggs in the ground, which remain there for two weeks before the larvae emerge.

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  Flora

  Messicole plants

  A feature of messicole plants is that they live among crops, even though not sown there deliberately. They are biologically adapted to open areas, and in particular areas that are regularly worked, such as fields. In fact, they use various strategies such as adapting their life cycle and producing large amounts of seeds in order to make up for the disturbance that occurs in their germination area. Many of them are common, such as the poppy, the cornflower and the corn buttercup...

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  Panorama

  Panorama of the Baie Saint-Michel

  This area, which has been provided with picnic amenities, offers the most picturesque panorama over the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. In fact, the lake is 2 kilometres wide at this point, and in front of you are the Chapelle Saint Michel and the Pic Morgon, an iconic view of the lake. On your left, to the east, you can see Savines-le-Lac and its bridge. On the right, you can see the secret île de la Tortue.

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