Walking holiday in the French Alps

Planet

Walking is the ideal environmentally holiday to leave no traces, very important in this area which is part of the protected Regional Park.

Our guide has a love of the region and the mountains and encourages clients to make a difference in starting with their group activities: picnic lunches are bought from local producers and commerces; waste is kept to a minimum and gathered before moving on with the walks. Waste is sorted before being disposed of in the necessary recycling containers.

The guide explains about the protected Queyras natural park, and gently accompanies the group in what gestures we can all make to preserve this precious natural environment.

We learn how to travel through the national park with as little impact as possible, in respect of the local paths and pastures and of the wildlife such as alpine foxes, mountain goats and ibexes: the guide of conduct in the park states to stay on paths to avoid causing erosion, and to leave animals in peace, observing from afar.

We hope that travellers will return home with a new awareness of climate change and its effects on these beautiful natural regions.

People

We are committed to organising small group tours that have a minimal environmental impact as well as benefiting the local communities that welcome us. We work closely with our local partners and have built up a friendly relationship over the years, both in St Véran itself and in the villages we visit nearby, where we encourage clients to visit local cafés and commerces to participate in the economic life of the area.

On this trip our groups stay at the Grand Tetras hotel in Saint-Véran, a small village in the Queyras region. The small family-run hotel is locally staffed, providing valuable employment in the tourism industry on which the region depends.

Fresh produce (such as cheese and meat) is sourced locally as much as possible. Picnic lunches (cold meats, cheese, bread etc.) are sourced at locally supplied stores and evening meals are either taken at our accommodation or local, family-run restaurants.