Hiking in the Chartreuse Massif
More then 1000 kms marked footpaths for everyone
Confirmed hikers, trail runners, strolls with the family.
Roaming, hiking from Grenoble to Chambéry, or a nice calm stroll in the evening… Your appealing campsite in the Parc Naturel Regional de Chartreuse is the perfect base to discover the forests, alpine pastures, high plateaus and the stunning views on the Vercors, Belledonne and the Mont Blanc.
The Chartreuse massif
“The Chartreuse island”…Very often, one compares the Chartreuse to a ship, because it’s an isolated massif. The medium mountain range of the Prealps is constituted of limestone cliffs, ridges, alpine pastures, wet zones and 2000 meter summits, like Chamechaude, the Grand Som, the Dent de Crolles, the Granier and the Grande Sure. In 1995 was founded the regional park Parc Naturel Régional de Chartreuse, which valorises the cultural heritage and preserves the rich biodiversity. In 1997 the nature reserve Réserve Naturelle Nationale des Hauts de Chartreuse was founded and became a protected site (with the Dent de Crolles and the Col du Coq): underneath are located the two most important subterranean networks of the French Alps.
Flora and fauna
You can discover a very rich and protected alpine flora and fauna in the Chartreuse. If you don’t make any noise, maybe you will see ibexes, chamois or marmots…
- The eagle-owl lives on the cliffs of the canyons, and is the emblem of our regional park.
- Deers, roes, mouflons, chamois and ibexes live in the zones between forests, alpine pastures and cliffs.
- Lynxes also live in the Chartreuse, but it is very difficult to see them.
- The black grouse lives in the typical Carthusian mosaic of pastures, fields and forests.
- More then 500 species of butterflies have been inventorised, among which the emblematic mountain apollo.
- 3 or 4 couples of golden eagles live on the cliffs of the Haute Chartreuse.
- After its winter sleep the marmot nourishes itself with the wild flowers of the alpine pastures.
- And it appears that, recently, wolves returned to the massif…
More then 2000 plant species, which is a third of all species in France, grow in the Chartreuse. Among them 80 protected plants, like a species of St John’s Wort but also orchids (like the Cypripedium calceolus)! You can admire the flowery fields, but don’t pick the flowers. They prefer to stay where they are.
The forest
Forests cover two third of the Chartreuse… Beeches, maple trees, pine trees, firs occupy a central place in the landscape, but also in the history and local economy of the Chartreuse: 60% of the massif is covered by forests and its wood received the special AOC Bois de Chartreuse label in 2018. This wood is used a lot by local companies.
The forêt domaniale de la Grande Chartreuse received, in 2015, the Forêt d’Exception label. It’s the only forest in the Alps that received this label. It’s also the biggest forest of the Alps (8500 hectares) and ancient property of the Carthusian monks.