Located in the French Alps, Chamonix offers a true French European mountain experience with stunning hiking, old Savoyard culture and of course unforgettable views. Towering above Chamonix, Mont-Blanc is the tallest mountain in Europe reaching 4810m, 15,781ft. The views will blow you away.
Transfer to Les Houches
By TMB: 16km/5h15
By variante Châlet de Miage: 18km/7h30
High point: Col de Voza, 1653m or Col de Tricot, 2120m
Les Houches is located 6 kilometres from Chamonix. This charming village offers mountainsides with tree-lined slopes and impressive views of the Mont Blanc massif and the Chamonix valley.
Just before reaching Col de la Voza, a row of Aiguilles that guard Mont Blanc offers themselves for inspection. The Dôme du Goûter and Aiguilles de Bionnassay then dominate views on the south side of the col, with the impressive Bionnassay glacier spilling between them, while from the hamlet of Le Champel the whole Val Montjoie is seen ahead with a hint of the Col du Bonhomme at its southern end.
High point: Col de la Croix du Bonhomme, 2483m or Col des Fours, 2665m
At the foot of Mont-Blanc, discover a village quite unlike any other: tradition & authenticity.
By tradition, we mean true alpine values, the respect of local architecture and the surrounding environment. By authentic we mean traditional buildings made of wood, stone and slate.
At this stage, the TMB goes right to the head of Val Montjoie and crosses over into the Vallée des Glaciers by way of Col du Bonhomme. Early in the season snow will no doubt remain in patches between the two cols. At the end of this stage, you arrive in Les Chapieux, where you will find a relaxing atmosphere on a bend in the Vallée des Glaciers.
Possibility of reducing the stage to 8h30 by using the local bus
(from 1st July)
High point: Col de la Seign, 2516m
At this stage, the TMB crosses out of France and enters Italy at the Col de la Seigne, one of the easiest crossings of the circuit, but one which also happens to be among the most scenic. Given reasonable visibility, the view of Mont Blanc and the Aiguille Noire from Col de la Seigne is stunning and is seen at its best early in the morning.
Transfer to Arnuva + walk from Arnuva to La Fouly + transfer to Champex
High point: Grand Col Ferret, 2537m
The crossing of Grand col Ferret takes the TMB out of Italy, into Switzerland and along the eastern edge of the Mont Blanc range. Among the highlights of this stage will undoubtedly be the view from the col looking back, a view partly framed by monstrous buttresses of rock. In the Swiss Val Ferret, the way to La Fouly has other characteristics to enjoy: it has flower meadows and chalets with window boxes bursting with geraniums and petunia; it has milky streams, the clanging of cowbells, neat patches of forest and hamlets that appear to be untouched by passing centuries.
By TMB: 16km/4h45
By Fenêtre d’Arpette: 14km/6h15
High point: Collet Portalo, 2040m or Fenêtre d’Arpette, 2665m
An idyllic retreat high up in the Swiss mountains, Champex is an ideal location to escape from the pressures of the modern world. Two charming places can be visited: Fort d’Artillerie, a fascinating underground fortress and Les Gorges du Durnand. It curves, dips, and rises over unsettled contours and in and out of indents in the hillside. There are neat meadows, patches of forest, rough combs and high alpine pastures leading to the simple alp buildings of Bovine. The Fenêtre d’Arpette, the highest point reached on the Tour of Mont Blanc, is a true mountain pass and one to enjoy for the sudden extraordinary vision of the upper Trient glacier revealed as you emerge through to the western side.
By TMB: 15km/6h
By Refuge Les Grands: 20km/6h30
High point: Aiguillette des Posettes, 2201m or Col de Balme, 2191m
Col de la Forclaz marks the northern extent of the TMB, the furthest point from the summit of Mont Blanc, but this stage carries the route over the final mountain barrier and returns it to the Vallée de l’Arve, which flows at the foot of the Monarch of the Alps. Col de Balme, across which runs Franco-Swiss border, provides the first view, and the lovely snow dome remains in sight for most of the descent to Tré-le-Champ. This is achieved along the crest of the Aiguillette des Posettes, an elevated path with a large panorama.
Transfer from Argentiere to Chamonix
We can arrange extra nights anywhere on the itinerary after your last walking day. We can also arrange a station/airport transfer.
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