Parco Naturale della Val Troncea

Itineraries

You can visit the Park in every season. Only the areas of riserva integrale della Banchetta-Vallonetto, established for the protection of the chamois, and in that of the Beth, where particular floristic species are safeguarded, there are restrictions. In these territories you must follow the trails and it is forbidden to lead dogs. In the other areas of the Park it is possible to lead dogs on leash. There are twenty-two trails marked by the Park Authority with the red-yellow tables and with wooden panels. They lead to very different environments, from the larch wood to the grazing land. You can go along the trails on foot, or, where it is signalled, on horseback. It is forbidden to use all-terrain vehicles and bikes. The latter can be used on all forest itineraries, even those where vehicles are not allowed.
In winter, it is possible to ski at the bottom of the valley along a beautiful cross-country track.

Beth Trail

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Departure point: Borgata Troncea
Arrival: Colle del Beth
Road access: it is possible to reach Troncea by car from May to October. On Saturdays and Sundays in July and in August, the road will be closed to cars from Laval (1,673m): therefore it is necessary to add 45 minutes walk. A shuttle service on payment is available.
Difficulty: easy tour from May to October. Alpine ski touring in spring and winter.
Walking time: 3 hours up, 2 hours down.
Difference in height: Borgata Troncea 1,915m, Colle del Beth 2785, difference in height 870 m.

It is a classical itinerary allowing tourists to appreciate some of its most beautiful views and at the same time to discover the history of the valleys and its mines.
The trail (n. 320) begins in the historical village of Troncea and, by following the mule track used by the workmen to reach the galleries at Colle del Beth and, before the building of the cableway, to bring to the valley the chalcopyrite (mineral from which copper and sulphur derive). The mining activity was abandoned after the 1904 tragedy, when 81 miners died under an avalanche falling from the side of Mt. Ghinivert.
The trail, completed with cases illustrating the mining activity, crosses environments which well represent the naturalistic features of the Park by enabling the observation of several botanical species and, if you are lucky, of chamois, deer, roe deer, ibex, and wood grouse.
On Colle del Beth you can see the ruins of the ancient camps used by miners and, near the entrance of the mines, the wonderful lakes of glacial origin called "laghi del Beth"; moreover, the Park has built a bivouac used as a surveillance hut, which can also be used by the hikers if they book in advance at the Park Authority Offices.

Distance in km: since it is an itinerary developing in an alpine environment, only the walking time and the difference in height are available.

Alpe del Meys

Departure point: junction at Troncea
Road access: from Traverses (country hamlet of Pragelato), take the road at the bottom of the valley up to the square situated at 200 m after the junction to the country hamlet of Troncea. On Saturdays and Sundays in July and in August, the road will be closed to cars from Laval (1,673m): therefore it is necessary to add 20 minutes along the road at the bottom of the valley and a difference in height of 99m.
Difference in height: 273m
Walking time: 2,30 hours
Trail markers: with red and yellow arrows and EPT nr. 319
Advisable period: from May to September
Map: IGC 1:50.000 Val di Susa Val Chisone; IGM 1:25.000 67 IV NW.

This easy itinerary, entirely developing on a dirt road at the bottom of the valley, gives the opportunity to visit an interesting botanical area which must still be completed by the Park, to enjoy the view of Alpine landscapes, and to observe, especially in the evening and early in the morning, or in the periods with less tourists, marmots, chamois, ibex, and eagles. Near the fountain of the Lendeniera you can observe a spring covered with musk (Cratoneuron commutatum and Drepanocladus revolvens), responsible of evident travertinization phenomena. The itinerary can be carried out also on horseback or by bike.
By car (only when the road is open to the traffic), but even better on foot or by bike to grasp the unusual aspects of the valley, you can reach the arrival area of the road at the bottom of the valley, at about 200 meters after the junction to the country hamlet Troncea. On foot, go beyond the barrier hindering the access of non-authorized motor vehicles and follow the dirt road running along the stream Chisone and two embankments, alternating short uphill stretches and large flat stretches. Once you reach a small wood, cross the bridge and take the trails leading you to discover some natural phytocenosis illustrated by panels and labels. If you are not interested in this visit, you can go ahead on the dirt road going beyond another small bridge in the wood and leading to a fountain. After the fountain, the road becomes steeper and leads you to a narrowing in the valley, where the waters of the stream go rapidly beyond three embankments.
At the end of the climbing, a rocky cliff made of breccia linked by calcareous components gives the opportunity to take shelter during the hike in case of rain. From this point you can observe the Lendiniera waterfall. Immediately after the nearby fountain, next to which there are spring musks, you can cross the stream Chisone on a wooden bridge and reach the left hydrographic side. Across grazing lands where some colonies of marmots live, the dirt road continues on avalanche cones.
Once you get to a thin larch wood, the road climbs and then goes down. You will have to cross, in case of thaw, two small streams. Afterwards, you will reach the second bridge over the stream Chisone, and go to the opposite bank; in five minutes you will get to the so-called "bergeria" where you will have the opportunity to buy butter and cheese. You can enjoy here the view over the wildest part of the valley and the mountains Barifreddo, Appenna, and Platasse.
You go back along the road you have climbed.

The Park Trails

Itinerary n. 1 From Plan to Laval (1,677m)	Difference in height: 60m Walking time: 0.30 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 2 Bottom of the Valley from the Junction to Laval (1,671m) to the Junction to the Fonderia La Tuccia (1,735m)	Difference in height: 64m Walking time: 0.40 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 3 Seytes (1,919m) from the road of the Bottom of the Valley	Difference in height: 229m Walking time: 0.40 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 4 From Seytes (1,919m) to Troncea (1,915m)	Difference in height: 4m Walking time: 0.30 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 5 From the junction to Fonderia La Tuccia (1,740m) up to Ponte di Laval (1,668m)	Difference in height: 72m Walking time: 0.40 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 6 From the junction to Fonderia La Tuccia (1,740m) to Borgata Troncea (1,915m)	Difference in height: 185m Walking time: 0.30 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 7 From Borgata Troncea (1,915m) to Forni di San Martino (2,320m)	Difference in height: 405m Walking time: 1.30 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 8 From Forni di San Martino (2,320m) to Colle dell'Arcano m (2,781m)	Difference in height: 461m Walking time: 1.30 h Difficulty: not always visible trail, but without difficulties.
Itinerary n. 9 From Forni di San Martino (2,320m) to Colle del Beth (2,785m)	Difference in height: 465m Walking time: 1.30 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 10 From Mt. Morifreddo (2,767m) to Colle dell'Arcano (2,784m)	Difference in height: 17m Walking time: 1 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 11 From Colle dell'Arcano (2,781m) to Colle del Beth (2,786m)	Difference in height: 130m Walking time: 0.40 h Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 12 From Colle del Beth (2,786m) to Troncea (1,915m) to "Angolo" (2,435m)	Walking time: 2 h down, 3 h up Difficulty: easy.
Itinerary n. 13 From Troncea (1,915m) to Gourret (1,840m)	Difference in height: 75m Walking time: 0.30 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 14 From the junction to Troncea (1,772m) to Meys (2,045m)	Difference in height: 273m Walking time: 1.15 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 15 From Meys (2,000m) to the lakes Nero (2,560m), Fauri (2,753m) and Colle Fauri (2,857m).	Difference in height: 560 - 760 - 857 m Walking time: 2 - 2.30 - 3 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 16 From Meys (2,000m) to Col Clapis (2,851m)	Difference in height: 851m Walking time: 3 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 17 From the springs of Chisone (2,650m) from the Junction to Col Clapis (2,200m)	Difference in height: 450m Walking time: 1 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 18 Colle della Valletta (2,690m) from Meys (2,000m)	Difference in height: 690m Walking time: 2 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 19 From Alpe del Meys (2045 m) to Fournet (1850 m) through Alpe del Roccias (2103 m)	Difference in height: 58m up and then 153m down Walking time: 1.30 h Difficulty: easy
Itinerary n. 20 From the junction to La Fonderia (1,730m) to Grangia del Vallonetto (2,158m) up to Banchetta Pass (2,679m) and Mt. Banchetta (2,823m)	Difference in height: 428 - 949 - 1,093m Walking time: 1.30 - 3.30 - 3.50 h Difficulty: easy but the second part of the trail is not always visible.
Itinerary n. 21 From Seytes (1,919m) to Mt. Morifreddo (2,769m)	Difference in height: 850m Walking time: 2.40 h Difficulty: easy, not always visible trail.
Itinerary n. 22 From Ponte di Laval (1,668m) to Ponte Das Itreit (1,616m) on the left orographic side	Difference in height: 52m Walking time: 0.20 h Difficulty: easy

Further information (Italian text)