Tour du Mont Blanc

Airfare is not included in this trip, so you are responsible for arranging your own transportation to and from France/Geneva Airport. The first day only includes a welcome dinner in the evening, allowing you to arrive in Chamonix at your convenience. Please note: due to varying international arrival times, one group transfer to the hotel will be scheduled to accommodate the majority of participants. If your flight does not align with this transfer, you will be responsible for arranging your own transportation to the hotel in Chamonix, which is approximately 1,5 - 2 hours from Geneva Airport.

We start with a short bus ride to Les Houches and take the lift up to Bellevue (1781 m). The first stage gives a good impression of the magnificent surroundings that await us throughout the week, and from the top of the lift we walk for about eight hours in hilly terrain to the mountain hut (today's highest point is about 2000 m), Refuge de Nant Borrant (1460 m) where we are going to spend the night. Along the way, we get a magnificent view of the Bionnassay glacier from a "Nepalese suspension bridge", we pass the famous chapel "Notre Dam de la Gorge" and the last stretch towards the chalet we follow an ancient, Roman road.

Another great – and the longest – leg of the trip awaits us this day. We will cross two passes, Col de la Croix (2483 m) and Col de Fours (2665 m), on our way down to La Ville des Glaciers (1789 m). If we are lucky with the weather, we have a panoramic view of several of the surrounding mountains (including Mont Pourri 3779 m), and the whole stage takes about eight hours. We spend the night in a charming mountain chalet.

Today we pack overnight clothes in our rucksack, because the luggage transport cannot reach us tonight. From the chalet, we go up to the Col de la Seigne (2516 m), one of the most beautiful mountain passes on the route. The pass forms the border between France and Italy - and here we are really close to the peaks Mont Blanc, Noire de Peutrey and Grand Jorasses! After taking in the panoramic view, we descend to the end of the Mirage glacier in Val Veni and jump on a local bus to Courmayeur (1306 m), where we have a lunch break and enjoy good Italian coffee. After lunch we take the bus a little further and go from Val Ferrett up approx. 400meters in altitude to the mountain chalet, where we spend the night.

Yesterday we went from France to Italy, and now the trip continues to Switzerland. It is relatively easy walking in the morning, before we start the ascent to Col Du Ferrett (2537 m). Here we say "Arriverderci" to Italy and descend to the village of La Fouly (1594 m above sea level), where we are greeted by a beautiful cultural landscape with animals, cedars and beautiful flower meadows. We stretch our legs at a cafe in La Fouly before finding our accommodation for the night. Depending on whether we stay in La Fouly or Champex, we either take a local bus in the afternoon to Champex and spend the night there, or we spend the night in La Fouly and take the local bus to Champex the next morning.

We start walking in Champex (1466 m), surrounded by Swiss cows and beautiful Swiss cultural landscapes. Today's destination is Trient (1279 m). We begin with a gentle walk along the road before tackling steep forested hills. Eventually, we’re rewarded with stunning views of a landscape that feels quite different from what we’ve seen so far on the trek. This is part of the original TMB route. We cross the wooded mountain toward Trient (1279 m), passing the beautifully situated mountain café at Alpage de Bovine along the way. In Trient, a private taxi will be waiting to take us back to France and our accommodation for the night.

From the chalet we now go up over the Chamonix valley, on the Gran Balcon Sud – one of the most beautiful paths in the Alps. In a couple of places, the mountain sides are relatively steep, and we get the help of ladders to help us ascend. We have a panoramic view towards Mt Blanc on the opposite side of the valley, and the trip goes via the famous Lac Blanc before we wander down through the forest to the center of Chamonix. Here we celebrate the trip with a proper farewell dinner!

Again, due to varying international departure times, one group transfer to Geneva International Airport will be scheduled to accommodate the majority of participants. If your flight does not align with this transfer, you will need to arrange your own transportation to the airport, which is approximately 1,5 - 2 hours.