From Chorges to the Embrun lake
Chorges

4. From Chorges to the Embrun lake

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Apart from the lake shores and the final descent, this stage is relatively easy to negotiate with one major ascent: "La Côte de l’Orme".
Striking contrast between the tranquillity of the isolated "Alpine hinterland", and the highly popular lakeside, with its beaches, inlets, bathing, paddle, lazing on the beach….The route hugs the shores of  before gaining height. The goal is in sight! The Descente des Tourniquets and return to the beach at Embrun are the final flourish of the trip.

12 points of interest

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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...
  • 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.
  • Fauna

    The Occellated Lizard

    This shy lizard is familiar with dry, scrubby environments. It is hard to track down and flees noisily at the slightest danger. It can run very fast, standing up on its legs with its tail raised. Its burrow serves as a refuge and hibernation site, as it is particularly sensitive to the cold. It devours whatever it can find: insects, fruit, molluscs, eggs; small mammals can even be on the menu. It has blue eye-spots on its flanks.

  • Fauna

    Great Cormorant

    Size: 90 cm

  • Fauna

    Yellow-legged Gull

    It has travelled up the Durance and settled on the lake, where it finds propitious conditions for its survival (open water). This gull, a cousin of the seagulls, is omnivorous. The colony can be seen around the lake all year round. They are generally grey or white, with black markings on the wings. They have a long, thick beak and yellow webbed feet. The young are grey in colour and take two to four years to acquire adult plumage.
  • Fauna

    Grass Carp

    This fish takes its French name (Amour Blanc) from the river it originates in, the “Amur” River, which forms the border between China and Siberia. Its powerful body resembles that of the carp, but its low-set eyes are very different. The well-thought-out and reversible introduction of this species by the town of Embrun and the fishermen is a gentle, ecological and controlled way of solving the problem of plant proliferation in the Embrun water body.
  • Fauna

    Mallard

    Not known to be shy, this dabbler prefers to feed on the surface or at shallow depths by moving forward with alternating circular strokes of its legs: it dips its head into the water and tilts forward. It nests on the banks of the Durance and is omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates, small fish and grasses... The male is easily recognisable during the breeding season by its bright green head. After this period, they moult and adopt a grey-brown colour close to that of the females and young.

  • Fauna

    The fry

    This is one of the most common 'white' fish. It has a spindle-shaped body, compressed laterally and covered with large silvery scales. Its lower fins and eyes are tinted red. Opportunistic, it eats both plants and tiny prey such as larvae and mosquitoes. It forms large shoals and most of the lake's anglers take their first steps on the water by catching them.
  • Fauna

    Common Perch

    The Perch has a grey-green body with dark stripes. Its scales are rough. It has two dorsal fins, one of which has spiny rays. Its lower and caudal fins are orange. It can grow to around forty centimetres. It is a gregarious and opportunistic carnivore. It feeds on invertebrates and crayfish, but also hunts fish in organised packs. It is a chance for many novice anglers to get their first taste of carnivorous fishing.

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Description

At Prévallier, turn right and then right again towards the Baie Saint-Michel and then towards the Baie de Chanteloube.(D3).
Leave the D3 and go left up the road towards Malmiellon. At the Chapelle de Chanteloube, head down the road on the right. After the bridge, take the road on the right.

  1. At the car park in Chanteloube, take the small paved road, go up the "Dune" and head towards the Baie Saint Michel.
  2. At Les Devandines, take the path leading downhill to the left. At Champ de Gorny, leave the track to take a trail opposite heading towards the Baie de Saint-Michel. At the Mareisson intersection, turn left and then cross the path opposite heading towards "Le Serre du Lac-Baie Saint-Michel" Then join the path on the right which runs alongside the railway line.
  3. At the Baie de Saint-Michel car park, go up the road and after the treetop adventure park join the trail at the end of the car park heading towards Mauduech (some pushing). Then stay on the small road until you come to the N94.
  4. At the road to the Camping du Roustou, take the service road opposite. Do not go downhill towards the lake, but climb uphill on the path on the left. Be alert, a trail winds off in hairpins to the left (viewing point) and runs under the road. Follow the mountain stream uphill and take the path on the right.
  5. At the Pra Perrier crossroads, turn right onto the uphill path. Stay on the level track and then head downhill through the pines.
  6. Before the SNCF railway bridge, turn left uphill. Follow the downhill trail on the right which takes you to a vineyard hut. Turn right and this takes you to the hamlet of Les Villards. In Roubeyères, go down the road and follow signs to Puy-Sanières. (RD641).
  7. In La Rochette, after the climbing site car park, go down the road on the right and, before the bridge, head left downhill. When you come to a path, turn right up the Côte de l'Orme hill. Stay on the main winding track. (Medium battery level 59%).
  8. At the belvedere of Le Pibou, take the first DFCI track on the right. Carry straight on until you come to the hamlet of Les Bouteils: turn right. Leave Puy-Sanières heading right downhill along the RD309. On the left-hand bend,  take the "Descente des Tourniquets". After the bridge, take the path on the left.
  9. At the lakeside gardens, after the bar, turn right towards the water sports centre ("Base nautique") and back to the lake via the dam track ("Chemin de la Digue").  
  • Towns crossed : Chorges, Prunières, Savines-le-Lac, Saint-Apollinaire, Puy-Sanières, and Embrun

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

There are numerous activities on offer at Chanteloube and in particular the Baie Saint-Michel: bathing paddle, adventure park etc. Take care on = the short sections of main road and  on the Descente des Tourniquets. Before Mauduech it is possible to picnic 
in the shade of the pine trees. E-bikes can be charged up at the bar-restaurant of the Le Roustou campsite.
Consumption index*: 60%

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