Onderwoald - Col Ranzola
Map & route
GPX track — verify on the ground before hiking
Fitness level
From the Walser villages above Gressoney-Saint-Jean you climb to the Col Ranzola (2,170 m), a gentle grassy pass linking the Lys valley with the Ayas valley and Brusson. An old transit route between the two valleys, today it is a scenic walk among pastures and larch woods, with views of Monte Rosa and the Gressoney basin; part of the Monte Rosa circuit and the Walser traverses.
Earth sciences
Geology & landscape
The bedrock is that of the Monte Rosa nappe — continental-crust gneisses and granites, greenstones of the Alpine ocean — carved and polished by the Lys glaciers, among recent moraines and roches moutonnées.
History & culture
This is Walser country: the Alemannic settlers who crossed the Monte Rosa glaciers from Valais in the 13th century left Gressoney the Töitschu language, timber-and-stone stadel and the German names of the peaks.
Getting there
Parking
Photo gallery
Photos are published immediately. JPG/PNG/WebP, max 6 MB.
Flora along the trail
Wildlife to spot
ACurated and verified by Andrea Rama
Data source: Catasto Sentieri Regione Autonoma VdA · Open data — DGR 899/2014
Last verified:
Valle del Lys
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