As a densely inhabited French town at the foot of the highest mountain in Europe, Chamonix gets its fair share of limelight. Its truly an outdoor Mecca and one of the better ways to explore the magnificence of the area in summers is hiking. There are thousands of trails and if we had to choose just one, it would be the Lake Blanc. Its certainly the most rewarding walk with panoramic views of the entire Mont Blanc massif and its glaciers stretching down into the valley.
Just as sun shines behind the mountains
Clouds engulfing the valley below
The trail to Lac Blanc(that’s the French name) is well maintained. We included Lac Cheserys too and made it a loop. We started off by taking the La Flegere cable car from the Chamonix valley. There is abundant free parking available to access this chair. Many trails start off as you exit the lift and there are clear postings for Lac Blanc.
Too many trails to choose from
Mer de Glace carving the valley
To the sunshine
The trail quickly climbs up and after a few steep stretches the views of the massives of Alps, Mont Blanc, Aiguilles Rouges and glaciers dominate. There were clouds dancing down the valley gracefully hemming the glaciers. Its a visual feast, tall peaks punctuated by long glaciers, the Le glacier d’ Argentière, Mer de Glace, Glacier des Bossons stretching from left to right.
His Majesty Mont Blanc
Tongue of the glacier Argentiere
Intimidating peaks of Mont Blanc massif
Soon, the splendid alpine scenery changes to harsh and rough, boulders skirting the barbed peaks of Aiguilles Rouges. The Aiguilles Rouge translating to ‘red needles’ are a stretch of acutely sharp peaks opposite the Mont Blanc range. They glow a glorious red on sunrise and are a bliss to watch.
Wild flowers in early fall
Cragged peaks of Aiguilles Rogue
A few more pushes brought us to the stunning lake Blanc. The sun was right above us and water was framing the majestic mountains exquisitely. There is a mountain hut on the banks of the lake which serves as a refuge and offers great food and drinks for people who muddled through to get there. We chose to reward ourselves by slurping on the chocolate mousse we picked from the Chamonix valley earlier in the morning.
Lac Blanc from the far end
A well earned piece of chocolate mousse, and the stunning view to cap it off.
This route is part of the tour des aiguilles rouges, but is not as crowded as the tour de Mont Blanc which circles the Mont Blanc. Nevertheless it offers surpassing views. After our break at the lake, rather going back same route we descended to lake Cheserys. This route is a little steep, but safe enough without any exposed sections. We hopped over a small wooden bridge sturdy enough to hold under our weight. There were a few small ladders fixed to the walls on the last stretch to Lac Cheserys. These are a small group of lakes and were a vivid blue at a lower altitude than Lac Blanc.
Iron ladders to get to the lake Cheserys
Just another small puddle 😛
Tracing our way back to the La Flegere chair we spotted a group of Ibex not bothered by any of the passing humans or the occasional shutter clicks. We couldn’t resist stopping by and gape at their brown frame and long horns.
Ibex are known for their long strong horns
Wild Ibex in the alpine meadows
Tracing back the route to La Flegere
If you choose to do this hike, its a good idea to stop by at the farmers market to get your morning bite and pack a small picnic at the lake. The cable car that takes to the start of the hike is 10 mins away from the center of Chamonix by car. There is also a bus that runs from the Chamonix village.
There are many more adventures and activities that you can set off on.
Check out our comprehensive list, “Glorious adevntures in Chamonix“
