GPR - Giroparco Gran Paradiso

The Giroparco Gran Paradiso itinerary largely retraces the former Royal Hunting Roads built by the House of Savoy in the mid 1800s to connect the five "royal hunting lodges" of the Reserve, which in 1922 became Italy's first National Park.With a constant gradient of around 8/10%, and with admirable dry stone walls and paved sections, they had to provide rideable pathways so that the royalparty could easily access the lodges. Some sections of the itinerary are at high altitude,offering extensive views of the spectacular scenery of the Orco and Soana Valleys, with their valuable landscape and environmental heritage.

From the refuge you descend to Lake Losere following the trace of the old mule track interrupted by hairpin bends from the road that goes up to Colle del Nivolet. Alongside the lovely Losere Lake, the mule track continues slightly downhill along the valley, with a grandiose panorama of the Levanne and Lake Serru. The route then continues flat, crossing some small streams and the Videsott path that goes up from Chiapili di Sopra. In this area it is possible to admire the valley from some hunting positions, still perfectly preserved. After this point the mule track begins to climb more steeply, but with a regular slope up to Colle della Terra, from where, in two minutes you can reach Punta Rocchetta, with a splendid view of Lake Ceresole and the valley below. From the Colle in about ten minutes you descend to the beautiful Lake Lillet, nestled under a rock wall. From the lake, take the track that goes up over stony ground, crossing, a little further on, route 540 that goes up from Mua-Ceresole. Keeping left, the path quickly reaches Colle della Porta 3002 m. From the Colle the ancient royal road descends with a few turns on the opposite side, between snowfields and debris, towards the Giraudo bivouac. At an altitude of approximately 2700 m, when the mule track bends to the right, abandon it and continue left along tracks that disappear between the large blocks of scree up to Lago della Piatta and the nearby Bivacco Giraudo 2630 m (6 beds, always open, water nearby).