Trail Photos From Tour du Mont Blanc
One of our best-selling hiking adventures, Tour du Mont Blanc, brings us around glacier-clad Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, and into seven gorgeous valleys radiating into France, Italy, and Switzerland. We’ve honed this classic to perfection with impeccably designed hiking days as we explore each country’s cultural and culinary delights. Overnights are in cozy mountain hotels and inns, and our expert Trip Leaders bring the area to life. Below are some photos from one of our adventurers who joined us in July 2022. Enjoy!
After an incredible breakfast at Grand Hotel des Alpes, our trip leaders began our adventure with a hike to Lac Blanc outside of Chamonix. Just a few steps into the hike, we were already treated to spectacular views of Mont Blanc.
Arrival at Lac Blanc, the perfect lunch spot where we enjoyed sandwiches near the pristine water. The food on this trip was fantastic!
After our hike to Lac Blanc, the trip leaders decided that an aperitif was in order so we walked to a nearby outdoor cafe. Close to the cafe, was this beautiful church. According to one of our trip leaders, Killian, this church is considered one of the most iconic Alpine churches and has been used in many movies.
The official Tour du Mont Blanc began in Les Houches. The hiking was breathtaking at every turn. All of these pictures reflect the beauty we experienced along the trail.
Once we reached the top of the col, the view was spectacular! After this high point, we hiked downhill to Refuge di Miage where many of us experienced a panache, a mix of beer and lemonade, which is a popular beverage after a long hiking day! Our overnight stay was in Les Contamines, France.
We left Bourg-St. Maurice, France, and started the TMB in Les Chapieux, France. It was a long and steady ascent, but we made it to the top of the col where we crossed into Italy.
Hiking through the Val Veny which led us into Courmayeur, Italy. Crossing the borders by foot was really amazing—no passport control! Hiking through all of the various valleys on this trip was truly spectacular.
On our day off, our Trip Leader Killian took many of us to the Skyway Monte Bianco, which was the cable car in Courmayeur, Italy. We could see Chamonix, France (with binoculars!) from the Monte Bianco, which is the Italian side of Monte Blanc. From the Itailian side, we could also see the Aiguille du Midi and the cable car that transports people from Chamonix to Courmayeur. This photo shows the valley and Chamonix in the distance. Apparently, it is quite popular to ski this passage in the winter.
After our day off, we continued our hike from Courmayeur, Italy, into Switzerland. We started in the La Vachey Valley. The picture shows the view of the valley as we climbed up to Col Ferret.
The hills are alive! Crossing into Switzerland felt like we were in the Sound of Music! Sweeping vistas in all directions. This was a perfect alpine meadow for lunch. And even the Swiss cows had a beautiful view over Martigny, Switzerland.
Our second to last hiking day was along the “Bovine Trail.” Our lunch stop was at this incredibly cute family-run cafe/farm. I sampled the local “mountain cuisine” which was a rösti, and of course another panache!
Our hotel was in Forclaz, where we enjoyed a beautiful evening sun reflecting on the mountain range after eating the best burger in the world at Hotel Forclaz.
On our last day, we hiked from Trient, Switzerland, back to Chamonix, France. The picture shows our return to the Chamonix Valley. Again, we had an incredible lunch stop and the food was wonderful!
This was a fantastic hiking trip and experience for Gabrielle and me. If you have ever wanted to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc, I would highly recommend doing this adventure with Wilderness Travel. The guides were knowledgeable, funny, incredibly helpful, and generally awesome! It was definitely hard work, but the scenery and great Trip Leaders made it a trip of a lifetime for us!
—Text and photos by WT adventurer Anne Thompson, Tour du Mont Blanc.
