The Trièves and Mont Aiguille

A good level of fitness is required. The stages present no major technical difficulties, but are fairly long.
From 4 to 7 hours of walking / day, average ascent: 800m.

No heavy bags to carry: you only carry a small backpack with your picnic lunch and the things you need for the day. Your luggage will be waiting for you at your accommodation every evening.

Available for groups of 2 people or more.

7 days, 6 nights, 6 days of hiking.

Depart on a date of your choice from late May to October, subject to accommodation availability.

Self-guided trip, without a guide; we provide a digital travel pack that includes: access to our smartphone navigation app, a list of your accommodation, any vouchers required and all the information you need for your trip to run smoothly.

If you wish, we can send a printed version of the travel pack to your home, including maps, a route guide and a travel wallet, for a supplement of 35 € per pack.
For printed travel packs requested less than 45 days before departure, or for travellers outside France, we will make the pack available at the first hotel of your stay.

Accommodation

2** hotels (4 nights) in rooms for 2 (4 nights in hotels with a swimming pool) + 2 nights in guesthouses - an inn rated 3 épis or a 3* hotel in Gresse en Vercors (a very warm welcome).

Hotel classification

In France, more and more hotels and guesthouses are choosing not to have an official rating, including establishments that were still rated one or two years ago. This does not mean their quality has declined—far from it. Many guesthouses offer charming accommodation.
If, for example, we indicate a comfort level of “2* or equivalent”: this means that the establishment does not necessarily have an official rating, but offers comfort comparable to that of a 2* hotel.

Meals

Half-board: breakfast and hot dinners are served. Picnic lunches are optional.

Please let us know about any food allergies or special dietary requirements when booking; we will do our best to adapt your meals.

Please note: accommodation photos are for illustrative purposes only. Accommodation may change. Depending on availability, we may book other hotels offering an equivalent standard and level of comfort.

Start

On Day 1 in the afternoon in Chichilianne, in the hamlet of La Richardière.

Finish

On Day 7 in the afternoon, after the walk, in Chichilianne, at La Richardière.

By train

Travel by train to Grenoble, then take a regional train towards Gap to Clelles. An onward taxi to Chichilianne can be arranged on request. Check current timetables before booking your connection.

By car

Head towards Grenoble (if coming from the north), then towards Sisteron and Gap. Leave the motorway at Vif (exit 12) and take the N75 towards Clelles, then the D7 and D7b to Chichilianne.
You can plan your route on the website.

Parking your car

In Chichilianne, near your hotel.

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, during a day’s walk or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. However, we emphasise that you alone must decide whether it is appropriate to swim; you therefore swim at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips—on foot, by bike and on snow—to invite everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

With a seat on the board of directors since 2018, we actively help the sector develop more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we focus on:

• Transparency in our practices and pricing
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every trip

We also share the values of the traveller’s ethical charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and make meaningful connections.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international certification that recognises our responsible practices in environmental protection, ethics and sustainable management, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a demanding international certification, recognises our concrete actions to support responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in line with our sustainability policy

In this section, you will find links to products from our partner Alpinstore, a French online retailer specialising in outdoor equipment, based in Annecy.

To carry your belongings

• A comfortable 30 to 50 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition, or a suitcase that is not too bulky. One bag per person, with a maximum weight of 15 kg

Discover how to pack your hiking backpack in our Mag.

For hiking

• Hiking boots with ankle support, a sole with good tread, a supportive heel counter and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Comfortable technical shorts
• Technical T-shirts or base layers (quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt
• Walking poles (telescopic), which are very important for making walking easier. Discover all the benefits of hiking poles in our dedicated article or how to choose your hiking poles

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of resisting sweat odours! As a general rule, avoid cotton, which makes you cold when wet.

For your picnic lunch

• Your eating kit: a plastic bowl, food container or plate, and cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• 1 or 2 water bottles (a total capacity of at least 1,5 L) – essential –; an insulated flask for winter

For protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection)
• Sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or a waterproof jacket, such as a softshell or Gore-Tex jacket, and possibly waterproof trousers

After your hike

• A pair of running-style trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A toiletry bag and a small towel
• Swimwear and a towel for the wellness facilities
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, surgical masks, hand sanitiser, plasters, sterile compresses and a bandage, gauze, antiseptic, arnica pellets and aspirin, etc. (Please note that this list is not exhaustive and should be adapted to your own medical needs.)

Find these tips in our article #"what to take with you on a hike".

This list is intended as a guide and should be adapted to your trip and the season in which you are travelling.

The Hauts Plateaux du Vercors National Nature Reserve has been protected since 1985, covers nearly 17000 hectares, and is the largest nature reserve in mainland France.

It is the true wild heart of the Vercors, with no roads or permanent homes.

The Reserve’s primary mission is to protect biodiversity. This is achieved, among other measures, through the permanent presence of a team of rangers who monitor the flora and fauna. The rangers also have an educational role, providing visitors with information and explaining the aims of the Reserve’s regulations.

Hikers enter an area where facilities (a few unstaffed huts) and waymarking (only on GR long-distance trails) have deliberately been kept to a minimum to preserve its character.

Vercors Regional Nature Park at a glance:

Established: October 1970
Area: 206208 hectares, including 17000 hectares designated as a nature reserve
Forest area: 125000 hectares
Altitude: 180m to 2453m (Le Rocher Rond)
Population: 46000 inhabitants

Municipalities: 85 in the departments of Isère (48 municipalities) and Drôme (37 municipalities)

Gateway towns: Grenoble, Crest, Romans, Saint-Marcellin and Vinay

8 natural regions: Quatre-Montagnes, Trièves, Vercors Drômois, Royans Isère, Royans Drôme, Gervanne, Diois and Piémont Nord.

Travel documents

Travellers, including children, must carry a national identity card or passport (EU nationals).

Country calling code for France: +33.

No time difference: GMT +1.

The Trièves is a region with a transitional climate due to its location on the edge of the Southern Alps. Its climate lies between the semi-continental climate of the Grenoble area and the sub-Mediterranean climate of the mid-altitude mountains in the Hautes-Alpes.

Sunshine levels, already high in Grenoble (around 2100 hours a year), are even higher in the Trièves (around 2300 hours). Rainfall in this area is also relatively low for its latitude. Its mountainous setting helps dry out the air.

Nature
This area is home to exceptional flora. This includes a wide variety of orchids, such as lady’s-slipper orchids, vanilla orchids, bee orchids, lady orchids and helleborines… There are also edelweiss, gentians, saxifrages, wild tulips (the Park’s emblem), and more.

Wildlife

The full range of local wildlife is present, except for bears (which lived in the area until 1936), with remarkable reintroductions such as the ibex (now well established, with nearly 400 individuals) and vultures (a successful return). Even wolves have returned…

Heritage
The Espace Giono is in Lalley, at the very place where the writer stayed, a stone’s throw from the house of his friend, the painter Edith Berger.

It houses a library and a permanent exhibition, “Giono’s Trièves”, which explores the close bond between the area and the writer.

Open in July and August on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 4 pm to 7 pm, and from September to June on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 pm to 6 pm. Tel. 0476347823.

The Trièves Museum in Mens, Place de la Halle, tel. 0476348828: a true local heritage museum, giving full recognition to the earliest human settlements dating back to prehistoric times, religious life, the rich rural heritage and the artists who have spent time in the area.

Here are a few interesting websites to help you better understand the Vercors and the Trièves: Vercors Park and Trièves Tourism.

A few books
A la découverte du Vercors, Parc Naturel Régional, published by Glénat, by François Ribard (a Grand Angle walking guide)

The Vercors Regional Nature Park has published a collection of photographs of the Hauts Plateaux reserve, entitled “Vercors d’en haut”, with commentary by Daniel Pennac.

Jean Giono, who lived for 20 years in Lalley in the Trièves, evokes a happy Trièves, where he admires a cheerful (Les Vraies richesses), peaceful (Rondeurs des jours) and inhabited countryside. This same countryside also appears harsh and vindictive (Les Ames fortes), a stage for the devil (Faust au village) and for boredom (Un roi sans divertissement). He feels so much a part of this community that he declares, “I can say that I am from here”.

• I.G.N 1/25000 no. 3237OT Glandasse
• I.G.N 1/25000 no. 3236OT Villard de Lans