The Pissarotte waterfall
Réallon

The Pissarotte waterfall

Flora
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After passing through the small hamlet of Les Gourniers, with its mountain architecture, a shady path leads to a platform from which you can admire this pretty waterfall, which flows all summer long.
“In the height of summer, the Pissarotte waterfall acts like a misting system... A special moment guaranteed! In the afternoon, when the sunlight diffracts on the mist, a rainbow appears at the foot of the waterfall."
Mireille Coulon, park ranger.

11 points of interest

  • Vernacular heritage

    Communal oven

    This is located in the basement of the former school (now the Park Information Centre). It is regularly used on the occasion of local festivals and events.
  • Architecture

    Hamlet of Les Gourniers

    The old houses of the hamlet are modest in appearance. They are built from stone and have sheet metal roofs. They used to be roofed with slate extracted from the nearby quarries
  • Architecture

    Chapel of the Nativity

    It is difficult to be sure of the chapel's date of construction, but is existed in 1700. The bell was installed in 1870, but the bell tower was built in 1956. In 2013, a new larch shingle roof replaced the old corrugated iron roof, 
  • Fauna

    Brown trout

    This wild trout of the salmonid family is 25 to 100 cm long. Its streamlined body and well-developed fins make it a very efficient swimmer in fast-flowing water. The deepness of the colour on its back varies depending on the environment. Its back and sides are decorated with black dots outlined with pink.
  • Geology and geography

    Giant’s cauldron

    The term ‘Giant’s cauldron’ describes a cavity created by a current of water in a standing rock. Here, the waters and the pebbles of the Chargès torrent whirl around polishing the cavity and giving it its spectacular shape. 

  • Flora

    Martagon lily

    The martagon lily is distinctive for its long upright flower spike. It bears 3 to 10 flowers which are violet-pink streaked with purple, out of which its long orangey stamens emerge. It’s better to admire it from a distance because, beautiful as it is, it has an unpleasant smell!
  • Flora

    Cupid's dart

    This 30 to 70 cm high plant has slender leaves, some linear with a few narrow side lobes. It is distinctive for its flower heads with parchment-like, translucent bracts and a broad russet median vein ending in a little point. The flowers are all ray-shaped and serrated at the tip. They are blue to purplish, darker at the base.
  • Flora

    Burnt-tip orchid

    Its name comes from the deep purple colour at the end of the flower spike. 10 to 30 cm tall, this orchid grows in sunny meadows, in limey soil. The flowers are small and arranged into a tight spike.
  • Flora

    Beech

    A majestic tree with a smooth, steel grey trunk. It has bright, shiny leaves which turn to russet in the autumn. The seeds, or beechnuts, are set into a small spiky woody shell. Here, the beech is growing at the limit of its distribution; they are at their highest in the Durance valley.

  • Flora

    Yellow gentian

    It is easy to see why this perennial plant, with a strong, hollow stem and which can grow up to one metre tall, is commonly called the great gentian. At the end of the stem, it carries several tiers of yellow flowers grouped into whorls, supported by a pair of large opposing leaves. This species can be told apart from others in the genus not only by its colour but also because the corolla is made up of five or six petals.


  • Fauna

    Carrion crow

    The carrion crow is a medium-sized corvid, slightly larger than the rook. It is easy to avoid confusing them, as the latter has a narrower, straight beak with a whitish base. Its plumage creates green reflections. The males and females are identical in appearance when young.

Description

Head towards the hamlet and cross it, following the signs to the waterfall.
  1. Turn right after the last house, pass the marmite des géants and continue to the bridge over the Réallon stream.
  2. From there, turn left and head up the path.
  3. At the fork with signposts to the waterfall, take the path to the right and follow it to the overhanging platform.
Take the same path back to the bridge, then continue straight ahead on the left bank to reach the car park via the little woodland discovery trail.
  • Departure : Les Gourniers, Réallon
  • Arrival : Les Gourniers, Réallon
  • Towns crossed : Réallon

Altimetric profile

Information desks

Tourist office Réallon Station

Pra Prunier, 05160 Réallon

http://www.reallon-ski.comreallon@serreponcontourisme.com0492442567
Tourist offices in the ski resort

July and August : Monday to Friday : 9.00 -13.00 and Saturday 13.00 - 17.00
From mid-December to March : Monday to Sunday :9.00 - 12.30 & 14.00 - 17.00

Find out more

Information center "les Gourniers" (summer only)

Les Gourniers, 05160 Réallon

http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/embrunais@ecrins-parcnational.fr04 92 44 30 36

Les Gourniers
05160 Réallon
Tel : 
embrunais@ecrins-parcnational.fr

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Maison du Parc de l'Embrunais

Place de l’Église, 05380 Châteauroux-les-Alpes

http://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr/embrunais@ecrins-parcnational.fr04 92 43 23 31

Information, documentation, exhibition, screenings, products and books of the Park. Accessible to people with reduced mobility. Free admission. All animations of the Park are free unless otherwise stated.

Find out more

Access and parking

From Savines-le-Lac, take the D41 to Réallon (village). Follow the D241 to the hamlet of Les Gourniers at the bottom of the valley.

Parking :

Parking at the hamlet of Gourniers

Accessibility

Family
Emergency number :114

Source

Parc national des Ecrinshttps://www.ecrins-parcnational.fr

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