Etape 4 - Aiguilles - Abriès - Ristolas

HERITAGE
The Haut-Guil valley
From Abriès we reach the Haut-Guil area. This border area saw fighting during the 1939-45 war, and most of its villages were burnt down and rebuilt after the war. The valley was also hit by flooding from the Guil and Ségure streams, its ancient heritage suffering greatly.
The Haut-Guil valley, which has a 45km border with Italy, is a veritable high mountain promontory overlooking the Po plain.
It is the gateway to the Ristolas - Mont-Viso National Nature Reserve and the Mont-Viso Man Biosphere Reserve.

Abriès
Abriès is a pretty town with shops and services, well worth a visit. Its most striking architectural feature is its church, although the former temple has now disappeared.
The ‘Circuit des pierres écrites’ is well worth a visit.
Spring 1945: dozens of engraved stones, which traditionally adorned the facades of the now devastated houses, were abandoned in the rubble that was being cleared away. Only a few stones were miraculously extracted from the ruins and found a place on a facade, at the corner of a new farmhouse or at random on a low wall. Considering the engraved stones that were saved at the last minute and the rare ones that didn't disappear during the war, around forty petroglyphs still dot the streets and buildings of the village today.

Ristolas
The village of Ristolas mainly consists of large houses built during the reconstruction period, and in 2014 it was awarded the Label Patrimoine du XXe siècle (20th Century Heritage Label).
Worth a visit: ‘L'Arche des Cimes’, the Queyras Regional Nature Park's nature interpretation centre.
Also worth a visit is the small museum of traditions ‘La Barma’, housed in a traditional house.

La Monta & l'Echalp
In 1885, the 12 houses of La Monta were destroyed by an avalanche, and in 1944, the hamlet was burnt down by German troops. All that remains are 2 houses and the church.
L'Echalp was partly destroyed by avalanches and the Second World War. Below the hamlet, a 1900s-style house can still be seen, close to the road.

Show less