Summer path 31 - Cheval Noir from La Sauce

Starting from a charming, well-preserved little village with its traditional chalets, you’ll head to one of the most beautiful mountains in the Tarentaise—still relatively unknown, but whose summit and 360° panorama have a little surprise in store for you. Allow 4.5 hours for the hike there.

No sooner have you arrived than a whole new world opens up before you: take in the sight of the hamlet of La Sauce with its Savoyard chalets built of stone and wood.

They are bordered by the valley’s last larch trees and the roaring Platière torrent. For the first few meters, you’ll be accompanied by Tarine and Abondance cows, since Beaufort cheese is still made here.

And for the rest of the trail, marmots will cheer you on with their whistles.
Hey, it looks like there’s something up there… could that be a rearing horse, gleaming brightly in the sun’s rays!? What a surprise to find a statue at the summit instead of the usual cross!
And what a 360-degree panorama over much of the Tarentaise and Maurienne valleys, as well as the Bauges and the more distant Chartreuse mountains, not to mention Mont Blanc, which still stands as proudly as ever.
On the way back, stop at the Plan Lombardie refuge to enjoy the hearty salads on offer.

Start: From the La Sauce parking lot, take the trail that climbs to the Plan Lombardie refuge
1/ From the Plan Lombardie refuge: a short break is in order! The route leads to the Chalets de Nansudry and then to La Platière before following the Cheval Noir stream and reaching the lakes
2/ From the Cheval Noir Lakes, climb toward the pass of the same name
3/ At the Col du Cheval Noir (2,527 m), continue toward the summit
4/ At the summit of Cheval Noir, the return trip follows the same route.