Cristol Lake

The Lac de Cristol valley, on the north-facing slope, offers magnificent green slopes. However, the ascent from Névache is no easy task, with some 800m of ascent, and a sustained but magnificent climb through the forest.

This hike starts from the Pont de Fortville, near the Bistrot de Pays Au Bon Coin, in the hamlet of Cros.

Cross the Pont de Fortville to reach "Les planchettes": the path crosses a pretty clearing lined with wooden sheds.

At the end of this plain, the path begins to climb through meadows towards the forest. The slope then begins to steepen between the trees, ignoring the various forest tracks on either side, and staying on the main GR5C-GR57 route. A few hairpin bends follow before a slight flat spot that crosses the slope.

A few more steep switchbacks and the path comes to a crossroads: the left-hand path (GR57) leads to Lac de l'Oule, while the right-hand path (GR5C) leads to Lac de Cristol. Take the right-hand path: it climbs steeply for a few tight switchbacks, then eases and straightens briefly through a sparse forest below the Grande Cime, before reaching the Cristol stream and its small wooden footbridge leading to the Refuge de Buffère via Côte Rouge.

Ignore the footbridge and continue upwards: the path then crosses a magnificent, sparsely wooded wetland, before joining the alpine meadows where the larches are nowhere to be seen, until it reaches Lac de Cristol.

The return journey takes the same route.

- It is possible to descend directly to the hamlet of Ville-Haute: to do this, retrace your steps to the footbridge, cross it and then take the steep path on the left bank of the Cristol stream. Be careful: in spring, when the snow melts, the Cristol torrent swells considerably, sometimes making the footbridge difficult to negotiate.

- You can reach the Porte de Cristol, then the Col du Granon.
- You can also reach the Refuge de Buffère.
- A loop can be made from Porte de Cristol to Col de l'Oule and Lac de l'Oule.