Gran Paradiso Alta Via 2, Group guided

TRIP ITINERARY:

Day 1: Meeting in Aosta, Italy

Our tour meets in the old Roman town of Aosta, where Roman and Alpine history meets. In the late afternoon, you will meeting with your guide and group members for a briefing on your Gran Paradiso tour ahead. Afterwards, you may have time for some last-minute shopping or a tour around the old roman ruins. The evening is yours to explore the many bars and restaurants at your leisure.

Day 2: From Aosta to Cogne

Our first day starts with a cabel car journey to the alpine resort Pila. From here, we begin our hike to the first mountain pass of our tour - Col Tsa Séche (or Colle Tsasetze). Initially we nootice the popularity of the resorts with hikers and bikers, but we soon leave that behind and have the stunning scenary to ourselves. Once at the pass, we can enjoy our first views of the Gran Paradiso mountain, which stands over 4000 meters tall and is the centerpiece of the national park. The descent takes us down a wild and stunning glacial valle, through meadows, and finally, larch forest. We spend the night in the charming alpine village Cogne.

Day 3: From Cogne to Vittorio Sella hut

Leaving behind the beautiful village of Cogne, we begin our day with a leisurely walk up a small valley to the old farming settlement Valnontey. There may be time to visit the Alpine botanical garden here before we commence our climb of the day. The trail snakes it’s way up through trees and between rocky outcrops. As we get higher, we enter a small valley, which we follow up to a plateau. Here, we are met by our home for the night - the Vittorio Sella hut, and also one of former King Vittorio Emanuele’s old hunting lodges.

Day 4: From Vittorio Sella hut to Eaux Rousses

Starting from the Vittorio Sella hut it's a fairly easy ascent through grassy slopes to start the morning. The gradient changes as we get higher and we’re taken through terrain which, from a distance, seems almost impassable. Nevertheless, the trail is sound and we soon reach Col Lausonne at over 3200 meters to be met by spectacular views. It's now a long downhill into a wild and rugged valley where Ibex roam on the steep and rocky hillsides. We enter the tree line for the final oart of the descent to the small hamlet of Eaux Rousses.

Day 5: From Eaux Rousses to Col du Nivolet

After a good nights sleep in our charming accommodation, we have a fairly long journey ahead of us. We climb through the idyllic Djouan pastures, and pass the Djouan lake, on the trail to the Colle di Manteau. Here, we are again greeted by spectacular views of the Gran Paradiso mountain. A long traversing descend takes us to the Col du Nivolet mountain pass, where we stay in a characterful mountain hut at over 2500 meters.

Day 6: From Col du Nivolet to Rifugio Benevolo

We are now well accustomed to the altitude. This comes in handy as another high pass awaits us today - the Col Bassei at nearly 3200 meters. At the pass, there's an option to climb to the summit of the 3338 meter high Punta Basei. The descend is steep and rocky to start with, but soon changes to lush, green pastures. We arrive at Rifugio Benevole, where the guardians welcome us with great, homemade food.

Day 7: From Rifugio Benevolo to Rifugio Mario Bezzi

We leave the friendly Benevolo hut behind and climb to the Comba di Goletta. This cwm was recently occupied by glacier and is akin to a lunar landscape, surrounded by the remains of the Goletta glacier and rocky ridge lines. It leads us to the Col Bassac Dere mountain pass. Our descend is interesting as we are edging the impressive Gliairetta glacier before arriving at the Mario Bezzi mountain hut.

Day 8: From Rifugio Mario Bezzi to Valgrisenche and Aosta

Our last walking day offers a very pleasant descending traverse above the Valsaverenche valley into the historic village of Valsgrisenche and the Beauregard lake and dam. We catch a transfer back to our hotel in Aosta in the early afternoon. The rest of the day is free to explore Aosta and it’s many cafes, bars and restaurants at your leisure.

Day 9: Depart Aosta, Italy

After breakfast you check out of your hotel. This is the end of the tour.