Sendero de los puertos alpinos

Bourg-St-Pierre is the last village before the Great St. Bernard Pass. At 1,632 metres above sea level, the climate here is harsh. The municipality has little cultivated land and has always lived mainly from the traffic over the pass. Old buildings and the restored mill give the village its charm.

On the pass route, the hike initially takes you a short way down the valley to Dranse d'Entremont. Hannibal with his elephants, Julius Caesar with his armies and Napoleon with almost 40,000 men allegedly marched through here.

After crossing the Dranse comes the ascent to the dam. Gravel roads and beautiful paths alternate. The arch dam of Lac des Toules is 86 metres high and stores twenty million cubic metres of water. Behind it, a beautiful trail leads along the lake's right shore for two kilometres. You can take an ice-cold bath by the wooden bridge over the Torrent des Erbets.

At the lake's southern end, you will find the world's first floating solar power plant at an Alpine altitude. Solar radiation is more intense at 1810 metres above sea level due to the thinner atmosphere. The double-sided solar modules are also more efficient here than in the lowlands because of the cold and the reflection of sunlight on water and snow.

The enjoyable trail with beautiful alpine flora continues through rugged mountain terrain. It runs in parts exactly over the border tunnel connecting Bourg-St-Pierre with the Aosta Valley. Completed in 1964, it was the first road tunnel to cross the Alps.

At 2,470 metres above sea level, you reach Lac du Grand Saint-Bernard and the hospice. The thousand-year-old hostel was founded to protect travellers from attacks. Initially kept as guard dogs, St. Bernards have, over time, made a name for themselves as mountain rescue dogs. You have reached the destination of this relatively short stage. Four hundred metres further along the road lies the border crossing with Italy.