Clarée Valley in Autumn: Hiking the Golden Valley near Briançon

Every autumn the larches of the Clarée Valley turn gold, and the whole valley above Briançon glows yellow, orange and red against the surrounding peaks. Photographer Thomas Tourral, who publishes as Septmai, returns for a few days each year to film it, and his photographs and cinemagraphs show why locals call it the Golden Valley.

Where is the Clarée Valley?

The Vallée de la Clarée lies in the Hautes-Alpes department of south-east France, close to Briançon, Montgenèvre and the Italian border. It is a glacial valley about 33 km long, with a floor that climbs from roughly 1,400 m to 2,000 m between the mountains of the Massif des Cerces. The Clarée river runs its whole length.

The heart of the valley is the commune of Névache, whose name is linked to snow that is slow to melt. Smaller hamlets such as Les Alberts, known for its stables, and Fontcouverte, with a dramatic waterfall, line the road up the valley.

Why it is called the Golden Valley

“It’s called the Golden Valley because when autumn comes, the trees change colour and become red, orange or yellow,” Tourral explains. Much of that gold comes from the larch forest: larch is a conifer that sheds its needles each year, and before they fall they turn a soft yellow that lights up whole slopes.

Tourral calls it one of the most beautiful places in France, and the trails he describes follow the river past lakes, waterfalls, forests and isolated houses. The meadows and larch woods hold a remarkable range of habitats, including peat bogs and waterlogged ground: together with the neighbouring Vallée Étroite, the area is home to about 39 per cent of the plant species known in the French Alps.

A protected valley with traditional farming

The valley has been protected since 1992, after a campaign led by Émilie Carles. Farming, forestry and livestock are still practised in traditional ways, and because of the protection there are no ski lifts. Around 600,000 visits a year are spread over 26,000 hectares, so the valley rarely feels crowded outside high summer. Look out for the many sundials, one of the valley’s trademarks.

Hiking the Clarée Valley: access and seasons

• Getting there: drive from Briançon towards the Col de Montgenèvre and turn into the valley, or come from Bardonecchia in Italy over the Col de l’Échelle.
• Summer shuttle: in July and August the upper valley is closed to cars, and a shuttle runs to the Refuge de Laval at 2,000 m.
• Long-distance trails: the GR 57, the Tour du Mont Thabor and the Grande Traversée des Alpes all pass through.
• Autumn: the larch colour arrives with the first cold nights, a quiet time for walking the riverside paths.
• Winter: more than 65 km of cross-country ski trails make Névache a Nordic skiing centre where the French national team trains.
• Spring: snowmelt brings kayaking and white-water rafting on the Clarée.

Continue through the region with Lukas Furlan’s French Alps: A Walking Photo Essay and Thomas Tourral’s French Alps: Lakes, Passes and Evening Light, or cross the border to Gran Paradiso National Park: Wildlife and Alpine Landscapes.

Related reading

• People in the Mont Blanc Massif: Alpine Photography’s Collection
• Lauterbrunnen: Waterfalls, Cliffs and Valley Life
• The Scale of Nature: Jakub Polomski’s People in the Alps
• Highlining Between Vanoise Express Cable Cars

Sources