Retrouvance® trekking: Buëch & Dévoluy (Hautes-Alpes)

Description

During this Retrouvance® tour of the Buëch and Dévoluy regions, I'll be taking you on an itinerary through the Hautes-Alpes, following in the footsteps of villages that have disappeared.

A real island between the Southern Alps and Provence, this route, the first "Retrouvance®" in France, will make you discover wild territories. The sources of the Buëch and the foothills of the Dévoluy offer a great variety of landscapes that still bear many historical traces: prehistory, ancient convents, abandoned villages, forestry plantations... Today, these mountains, abandoned by men in the 19^th century, then reforested by the state, constitute a vast space where wild nature has regained its place.

The ONF (National Forestry Office) also opens its immense state forests to you: you will be lodged in isolated and restored old forest houses, in the heart of old mountain villages in ruins with moving stories.

This hiking tour combines comfort and authenticity: you will walk light without carrying a heavy backpack. In addition to the mountain leader, a logistician will also be present on the entire route. This steward will carry your luggage from lodge to lodge, will look for meals at the local farms and inns, will prepare the house, the table and the meal, will clean the house at our departure, etc. Even the drinks will be chilled in the fountain when you arrive from your day's walk... a comfort appreciated by all!

This little-known region with its surprising limestone landscapes is also a paradise for naturalists: chamois, mouflons, deer, golden eagles, and flowers unique in the world await you. Wolves have also made a comeback, with a pack that has been settled here for over 25 years. This situation is not without its problems, as Dévoluy has 25000 sheep for every 1000 inhabitants. I will share with you the different points of view of naturalists, hunters, farmers, shepherds, and French government policy.

The trail winds through gorges along the Petit Buëch torrent, leads to the ruins of the old Berthaud Monastery, visits dark and mysterious beech forests, allows the observation of chamois in the immense Bure cirque and mouflons on the heights of the Chaudun cirque, offers a picnic with your feet in the water of the Béoux torrent, passes through the ruins of the old village of La Cluse, crosses the balcony between the passes of Matacharre and Conode, climbs to the fountain of the "vallon" before reaching the mineral world of the Aurouze plateau and finishing at the foot of the Pic de Bure, the highest limestone cliff in Europe with its 700 meters of verticality.

You will walk between 11 and 19 kilometers per day, that is to say 5 to 7 hours of walking. The daily positive difference in altitude is between 500 and 960 meters, except on the fourth day if you climb the Pic de Bure (1650m).

Three wellness massages are offered to you (in supplement) by Agnès of "L'escapade Sensorielle" in the forest houses of Agnielles and Sauvas.
Ideal complement to your sporting activity, they are associated with essential oils and allow a perfect muscular recovery. Your choice :

• Sports recovery massage (back and legs).
  Duration: 45 minutes / Price: 45€.
• Discovery massage for sports relaxation (back or legs).
  Duration: 30 minutes / Price: 35€.
• Chinese foot reflexology.
  Duration : 45 minutes / Price : 50€.

Don't forget to book with your guide or the logistician at the beginning of your stay.

If you have other desires, I also propose throughout the summer:

• a 6-day Retrouvance® trekking in the high Verdon and Entraunes valley,
• 5 days of hiking and relaxing in Gap in our cottage,
• a hiking stay with bivouac on the tracks of wolves in the Southern Alps,
• a beautiful family experience of hiking with bivouac in the wolves valley
• and a Retrouvance® trekking in Corrèze on the Millevaches plateau.

Customer reviews:
"Étienne's presence as a guide on the Retrouvance® Buëch-Dévoluy hike was a real plus:

• He has botanical knowledge that he shares during our stages.
• He has mycological knowledge and takes his clients to interesting places.
• He takes us along paths that aren't necessarily on the map, and which reveal interesting landscapes.
• He is attentive to the fitness of his hikers.
• He has formed an efficient tandem with Eric (the logistician).

I really enjoyed my Retrouvance® Buëch-Dévoluy hike."
D., September 2024.

"Very nice hike in the Dévoluy at the end of September 2024. Étienne has a formidable knowledge of all the nooks and crannies of the mountain, but also of the flora and fauna. His ability to adapt to all the pitfalls (weather, changes in terrain, etc.) and his availability to hikers, whatever their difficulties and level, is flawless. Well done!"
Serge, September 2024.

Program

D1: Veynes train station - Agnielles.
Meet at 2.15pm at the Veynes-Dévoluy train station, dressed and ready to hike.
From the center of Veynes, a small path that used to be a mule track goes up the slopes of the Grésière in a Provencal environment. The path is lined with broom, thyme and Aphyllanthe de Montpelier. At the pass of Bertaud, you switch to the forest of Durbon and join the hamlet of Agnielles by an easy descent.
Installation, dinner, night and breakfast in the forest house of Agnielles, building of the XVI^th/ XVII^th century located in the heart of an abandoned village. Perched at an altitude of 1030 meters, Agnielles still had a hundred inhabitants at the beginning of the 20^th century.
The meals are prepared by the restaurant "Le Cytise" in La Faurie.
Positive altitude difference: 600 meters, negative altitude difference: 400 meters, estimated duration: 5 hours, 11 km.

D2: Agnielles - Rabioux.
Today you will climb the Col du Lauteret, an ancient access route to the Dévoluy. Herds graze in the area and griffon vultures make it a favorite stopping place. Descending from the pass along a path winding through the mountain pastures, you will enjoy a splendid view of the largest scree slopes in Europe!
Check-in, dinner, overnight stay and breakfast at the Rabioux forest house, nestled at an altitude of 1240 meters.
Meals are prepared by the restaurant "Le rendez-vous gourmand" in Veynes.
D+: 850m, D-: 650m, estimated duration: 7 hours, distance: 15km.

D3: Rabioux - Les Sauvas.
Access to Les Sauvas via the Vallon fountain. Today you are in the realm of marmots and chamois.
Settle in, have dinner, spend the night and enjoy breakfast in the old hamlet of Les Sauvas (1343 meters above sea level), which belonged to the Chartreuse de Durbon monastery until the French Revolution. Today, a bread oven, two buildings used as group lodgings, stables, and the forest house offer an unforgettable welcome in the heart of the magnificent natural cirque of Bure.
Meals are prepared by the restaurant "Le rendez-vous gourmand" in Veynes.

D4: Les Sauvas - Les Sauvas.
The sporty option (optional depending on weather conditions and participants' preferences) is to climb one of the iconic peaks of the Southern Alps: Pic de Bure, at an altitude of 2705 meters! The climb takes place in a mineral landscape of spectacular scree slopes and lunar plateaus. The summit offers exceptional panoramic views.
There is the option of a rest day for those who want it, with the possibility of a re-energizing massage by Agnès.
D+ and D-: 1,360 m, estimated duration: 6.5 hours, distance: 8km.

D5: Les Sauvas - Chaudun.
This is perhaps the most varied stage through the passes of Matacharre and Conode, the chapel of La Crotte, through melezins, alpine pastures and always under the impressive and prestigious pillar of Bure. The access to the ruined village of Chaudun is through the gorges of the Petit Buëch. Passage through the Bois du Chapitre, a forest listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its remarkable trees and its rich fauna and flora.
Installation, dinner, night and breakfast in a superb forest house of Chaudun perched at more than 1300 meters of altitude.
Meals are served by the restaurant of the "Centre d'Oxygénation" of the Bayard pass.
D+: 800m, D-: 850m, estimated duration: 8 hours, 19km.

D6: Chaudun - Rabou.
The day begins with the passage to the sources of the Petit Buëch, in the heart of the cirque of Chaudun. You will observe mouflons and marmots before reaching the picturesque village of Rabou by the pass of Chabanottes.
End of the stay around 4.30pm.
A mini-bus will bring you back to the train station of Veynes.
A variant is possible adding 1 hour of walking to reach Rabou by a mule track making a passage through the cliffs. This imposing passage used daily by the letter carrier in the 19^th century will leave you an unforgettable memory.
D+: 500m, D-: 600m, estimated duration: 4.5 hours, 10 km.

Important: the mountain leader can modify the route according to the weather and/or terrain conditions and/or the level of the group. The itineraries will remain more or less the same, but there are loopholes/variants that allow you to shorten or lengthen the days.

The price includes

• Supervision by the mountain leader.
• Presence of a logistician for the transport of luggage, the opening and closing of the lodges and the preparation of meals.
• Full board accomodation (picnic lunch included) from dinner on the 1^st day to the picnic lunch on the 6^th day.
• Drinks and snacks.
• Tourist taxes.

The price does not include

• Return transport to Veynes, 30 minutes drive from Gap and one hour and a half from Grenoble.
• Picnic lunch of day 1.
• Massages offered by " L'Escapade Sensorielle ".
• Personal expenses.
• Insurance.
• Anything not mentioned in "The price includes".

Accommodation

• Accommodation is provided in forest houses, located in old villages that have disappeared, in the heart of the state forests. Their interior layout allows groups of hikers to make comfortable stops.
• They are all independent and self-sufficient in electrical energy. This energy production is provided either by pico power plants or by photovoltaic panels. The recharging of your electrical appliances will be almost impossible (telephone, batteries for lamps, camera, etc.). In these houses there is no wifi and little telephone network.

• Share on twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Send by e-mail