Embrun - Les Orres (TSP Gravel)
Embrun

1. Embrun - Les Orres (TSP Gravel)

Pass
Lake and glacier
Panorama
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Motivated? Add a mountainous touch to this first stage with the Col du Parpaillon on the return journey
Most of this stage is uphill, with a good warm-up on some pretty mountain roads, with views of Lake Serre-Ponçon and the Ecrins mountains. The second part follows shady forest tracks to the village of Les Orres and its ski resort.

5 points of interest

  • Water

    The Durance

    The Durance is the most important river in Provence and the third largest tributary of the Rhône, behind the Saône and the Isère. It rises in the Hautes-Alpes in the municipality of Montgenèvre and is soon joined by the Clarée and Guisane rivers, which flow past it despite being longer and having a greater flow at the confluence point. The Durance valley has been a major communication route for centuries, and its capricious nature has been controlled by the artificial lake at Serre-Ponçon and a canal running downstream. The old proverb from the Ancien Régime, which once claimed that "the three scourges of Provence are the Mistral, the Durance and Parliament", has now been forgotten, and the Durance now brings nothing but life to the land it irrigates.

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  • History

    Crévoux

    Nestled amongst peaks approaching 3,000m, such as the Grand Parpaillon and Pic Saint André, the village of Crévoux occupies a deep valley that has seen the establishment of several hamlets, including La Chalp, which extends over a narrow alluvial terrace. Once at the heart of a major craft industry, with the rise of basket-making and cabinet-making, the village now revolves around its small ski resort, created in 1937, making it one of the oldest in the Hautes-Alpes.
  • History

    Cabane des Espagnols

    This hut is a memorial to the Spanish refugees who were mobilised in Crévoux to maintain and repair the Parpaillon road, a militarily important road in those troubled times. The Spanish camp at Crévoux was set up in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War and in the twilight of the Spanish Civil War, which saw Franco's victory and the flight of many Spanish republicans to France.
  • Pastoralism

    The pastre

    This is the Provençal word for shepherd. The trail got its name because of its many traces of pastoral activity along the way. Among other things, you can see the remains of ancient shelters known as muandes. These were used as stopovers between the farm and the mountain pastures during the transhumance up to the summer pastures at the start of the summer and during the transhumance to lower pastures in the autumn.

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  • Architecture

    Church of Marie-Madeleine in Les Orres

    Characteristic of Hautes-Alpes architecture, it was built around 1501 and is remarkable for its size and painted decorations.

Description

  1. From Embrun station, join the roundabout and take the first exit to join the pedestrian zone slightly to the left (towards the tourist office). At the end of the pedestrian zone turn right then left at the roundabout (supermarket)
  2. At the end of the supermarket car park, in Les Moulineaux, head down a small tarmac path towards the lake. /The path is steep with sharp bends and the lower part has a few stones. Turn right at Le Chaffal. At the end of the road, turn left to reach the right bank of the Durance.
  3. On the banks of the Durance turn left onto the small road that runs alongside the river. Pass under a bridge. At the D994d road, continue to the right, cross the Durance by the wooden bridge and then turn left towards Saint-André d'Embrun.
  4. Before the bridge over the Crévoux, turn right onto the small road that climbs towards Clot Peyrolier Haut. At the hamlet of "Coin Haut", go straight ahead, join the bend of the D39 and turn right up the torrent de Crévoux as far as Crévoux.
  5. At Crévoux ascend right towards the resort (D39a). From the village square, head up the street that starts at the war memorial. At "Champ La font 2", take the stony track opposite towards the hamlet of La Chalp. Continue straight ahead on the main path until you reach the road.
  6. At the bend, ascend the road on the right to the picnic area (Cabane des Espagnols)
  7. At the picnic area, turn right twice onto the path leading upwards (there is a spring on the road after the Réal bridge on the right). Stay on the main track (Route forestière de Bouche Clauze). Head downhill and turn right at the bend in the track. At the crossroads go straight on
  8. At the crossroads of the H24 DFCI track, continue straight ahead on the main track to reach the village of Les Orres.
  9. At the county town, descend to the left towards the church (fontaine le commun). Turn right down the hairpin road towards Embrun. At the D40 turn left for 20 m (Plan des hameaux) and go down the path on the right, which is not very visible (/!\ presence of stones)
  10. At the Route du Pont (D540), turn left up to Le Melezet.
  • Departure : Embrun
  • Arrival : Le Mélézet, Les Orres
  • Towns crossed : Embrun, Saint-Sauveur, Crévoux, and Les Orres

Altimetric profile

Recommandations

Herd protection dogs

In mountain pastures, protection dogs are there to protect the herds from predators (wolves, etc.).

When I hike I adapt my behavior by going around the herd and pausing for the dog to identify me.

Find out more about the actions to adopt with the article "Protection dogs: a context and actions to adopt".
Tell us about your meeting by answering this survey.

Information desks

Tourist office Embrun

Place Général Dosse - BP 49, 05202 Embrun

https://www.serreponcon-tourisme.com/embrun@serreponcon-tourisme.com0492437272

October to march : Monday to Saturday, 9.00 - 12.30 & 13.30 - 17.00. 
April, may, june & september : Monday to Saturday, 9.00 - 12.30 & 14.30 - 18.00
July and August : Monday to Saturday, 9.00 - 19.00. Sundays, 10.00 - 12.30 & 16.00 - 19.00


On French national holidays (except 14th of July and 15th of August) : 9am to 1pm. Closed on the 1st of January, 1st of May, 25th December and 11th November
Closed on Thursdays outside French holidays’ periods

Find out more

1 place des étoiles, 05200 Les Orres

https://www.lesorres.com/ot.acceuil@lesorres.com0492440161

Transport

SNCF: Chorges station, Embrun https://www.sncf-connect.com/
Bus : Valserres, La Bâtie Neuve, Chorges, Puy Saint Eusèbe, Puy Sanières, Embrun Baratier, Les Orres, Remollon, Theus, Espinasse
Marseille-Briançon : (LER29)
Marseille, Nice : Lignes Express Régionales (LER) +33 (0)809 400 415
Grenoble : Transisère +33 (0)4 26 16 38 38
Gap-Barcelonnette (LER535)
Carpooling area : Rond point des Orres - 05200 Baratier
Plane:
Marseille Provence Airport (188km) - +33 (0)820 811 414
Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (158km) - +33 (0)4 76 65 48 48
Lyon Saint Exupéry Airport - (203km) +33 (0)826 800 826
Turin Caselle Airport - (178km) + 39 011 567 63 83

Access and parking

From Grenoble, Lyon, Paris : RN 85 or RN 75. At Gap, take the RN 94 towards Briançon.
From Marseille, Montpellier A51 to La Saulce, continue towards Tallard (D942) and Briançon (RN 94).

Parking :

Embrun lake car park

Source

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