Hiking · GR 54
Le tour des Écrins
The loop around the highest range entirely within France: twelve passes, valleys with no road, and the glaciers of La Meije and the Barre des Écrins in view.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes → Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
Where to sleep on Le tour des Écrins
Halta lists 220 places to sleep within 5 km of the route: 51 campsites, 52 mountain huts, 108 bivouac spots, 9 hotels. For each one, the app shows the real detour from your stage — and it is that distance, not the straight line, that decides how a day ends.
- Campsites
- Mountain huts
- Bivouac spots
- Hotels
Alongside the campsites, mountain huts and bivouac spots drawn from open data, there are the hosts of the Halta community: travellers who welcome others into their homes, usually for free. You write to them before you come; you do not book a slot.
The 9 stages of Le tour des Écrins
An indicative split, drawn on real roads: distances and elevation come from route calculation, not from an estimate. In the app every stage can be adjusted — stretched, cut short, or pushed back a day.
| # | Stage | Distance | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Bourg-d'Oisans → Le Bourg-d'Arud | 15 km | 988 m |
| 2 | Le Bourg-d'Arud → La Bérarde | 25 km | 1 099 m |
| 3 | La Bérarde → Villar-d'Arêne | 56 km | 2 505 m |
| 4 | Villar-d'Arêne → Le Monêtier-les-Bains | 18 km | 441 m |
| 5 | Le Monêtier-les-Bains → Vallouise | 19 km | 1 048 m |
| 6 | Vallouise → La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar | 56 km | 3 008 m |
| 7 | La Chapelle-en-Valgaudemar → Le Désert-en-Valjouffrey | 30 km | 1 890 m |
| 8 | Le Désert-en-Valjouffrey → Valsenestre | 13 km | 1 717 m |
| 9 | Valsenestre → Le Bourg-d'Oisans | 34 km | 1 089 m |
Frequently asked questions about Le tour des Écrins
How many days does Le tour des Écrins take?
Le tour des Écrins takes about 17 days, split into 9 stages over 266 km — an average of 16 km a day. The split is indicative: stages stretch or shorten depending on your form and the weather.
Where can you sleep on Le tour des Écrins?
Halta lists 220 places to sleep within 5 km of Le tour des Écrins: 51 campsites, 52 mountain huts, 108 bivouac spots, 9 hotels. On top of those are the hosts of the Halta community, travellers who welcome others into their homes, usually for free.
How hard is Le tour des Écrins?
Le tour des Écrins is rated hard, with 13 785 m of cumulative elevation gain over 266 km. Per stage, that works out at roughly 1532 m of climbing a day.
Where does Le tour des Écrins go?
Le tour des Écrins runs from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Le Bourg-d'Oisans, by way of Villar-d'Arêne, Vallouise, Le Désert-en-Valjouffrey, across Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes → Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. It is travelled on foot and totals 266 km split into 9 stages.
Figures established on 17 September 2026, from Halta’s own data. How they are calculated.
More routes on foot
Étapes indicatives d'après le tour de l’Oisans et des Écrins (GR 54) (balisage FFRandonnée). Tracé reconstitué par routage (ODbL, openrouteservice.org). Halta 2026-08. Places to sleep: OpenStreetMap, refuges.info and DATAtourisme (ODbL). Photo : Wikimedia Commons (CC).