Across the valley «La combe de L’A»
Liddes/Vichères
-6/0°
Hike the full length of one of the wildest valleys in Valais. Glorious scenery, excellent opportunities to spot wildlife, fascinating geological trail, friendly mountain refuge.
Difficulty
DifficultLength
21.16 kmDuration
7:30 h
Description
The Combe de l’A is a side valley off the main valley leading up to the Great St Bernard Pass. But while the Val d’Entremont has been an important transit route for thousands of years, the Combe de l’A has remained a virtually untouched wilderness. Today, the valley is a nature reserve covering a variety of alpine habitats from altitudes of 1,400 m to 3,000 m.
This hike along the full length of the valley offers excellent opportunities to see alpine wildlife, from ibex, deer and marmots to ravens and golden eagles. Information panels along the way explain how the rocks and landscape have been shaped by water, snow and ice.
The upper reaches are covered in snow for much of the year, but from late springtime, the valley bursts into colour, the meadows carpeted with alpine flowers. In autumn, especially at dawn or dusk, the sound of the belling of the stags promises an unforgettable experience.
The trail passes through a variety of alpine habitats at different altitudes – forest, wetland, pasture, dry meadow – to climb high above the treeline. The climax of the hike comes at the far end of the valley, at the Col du Névé de la Rousse (2,751 m), where hikers enjoy breath-taking views down into the Val Ferret and across to the Mont Blanc massif.
Hikers return to the starting point along the same route. Midway along the valley, the friendly Cabane de la Tsissette serves snacks and meals from the end of June to mid-October – ideal for a refreshment stop either on the way up or down.
Highights:
- Pristine valley, virtually untouched by human intervention
- Wealth of wildlife – eagles, deer, wild flowers – and fascinating geological trail
- Friendly mountain cabin midway up the valley
Turn-by-turn directions
A few metres from the chairlift station, a large wooden sign shows the entrance to the Combe de l’A. The first section of the itinerary follows a forest track that gently traverses the slopes until it reaches the valley’s river: the Torrent de l’A.
Beyond, the trail climbs up through the forest before leading up the valley, drawing steadily closer to the river and then crossing it again just before the Cabane de la Tsissette. The path continues climbing to the sweeping alpine meadows around Vouasse before a final ascent to the Col du Névé de la Rousse, which links the Combe de l'A to the Val Ferret.
Return to the start of the walk via the same route.
(Hikers arriving by public transport will start and finish at Liddes. From here, walk downhill and cross the river to reach the hamlet of Dranse beyond. Then follow footpaths to the hamlet of Vichères and to the chairlift car park. This adds about another 1.5 hours each way to the hike.)
Start
Vichères, chairlift (1572m)
Destination
Vichères, chairlift (1594m)
Author's recommendation
Bring a pocket lens to admire the detail of the many different flowers, rocks and minerals along the trail.
Technical information
Altitude
2750m
1573m
Ascent
+1239m
Descent
-1216m
Stamina
Experience
Landscape
Best time of the year
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Tags
Public transport
Starting and finishing the walk at Liddes – as opposed to the chairlift car park at Vichères – adds an extra 4.5 km (1.5 hours) each way.
Approach
Parking
Source
This activity is brought to you by Valais/Wallis Promotion
