queyras
natural regional park
region: provence-alpes-cÔte d'azur

a rural habitat recognised for its culture and countryside

The Queyras, located in the Hautes Alpes department, is a jewel of the Southern Alps. The Queyras is a preserved area that profits from abundant sunshine making it a stunning as well as vast playing field on which you can ski, walk, have fun, dream, wander from one village to the next...Abriès, Aiguilles, Arvieux, Ceillac, Château Ville Vieille, Molines en Queyras, Ristolas, Saint-Véran.

Here, you will discover a land with an exceptionally rich heritage. From the pleasing sunny south facing slopes to breathtaking summits which peak at over 3000m of altitude, the Park takes you on a journey through changing atmospheres, from heat to cold, from grassy prairies to steep rock faces, from trickling streams to gushing waterfalls.

© ATOUT FRANCE/Fabrice Milochau

The Queyras cultural heritage is a rich and unique legacy. To visit its eight mountain villages is to soak up its charms: its history, its sun dials, Fort Queyras, its geological features like the 'Demoiselles Coiffées' and its religious heritage. There are many places to explore on foot such as the Pisse waterfall at Ceillac or the centuries old larch and Cembran pine forests. You will immediately appreciate the charms of all these venues.

The 280m-high Pisse waterfall, located at the foot of the Mélézet in Ceillac, is the starting point for numerous treks. The GR5 circuit will take you from the Queyras’ tallest waterfall up to the Miroir lake and then to the Saint Anne lake thanks to a stunning traverse path through the larch forest. As soon as the temperature drops, marking the arrival of winter, the Pisse waterfall becomes one of the most well known ice climbing routes in the high Alps. The waterfall thus changes its name to “Formes du chaos”; a perfect description of the different kinds of ice and the various ice configurations that the climber will have to deal with.