High Route 1 — Stage 2: Perloz → Rifugio Coda

Stage two of High Route 1 begins with a brief descent from Perloz toward Lillianes before committing to a long, sustained climb into the Regional Nature Reserve of Mont Mars. The path winds upward through mixed woodland — birch, larch and Scots pine — where road noise fades quickly and the sound of side-streams takes over. As altitude accumulates the forest opens onto high pastures scattered with emerald glacial tarns, the celebrated Mont Mars lakes that have drawn pilgrims and walkers for centuries. Rifugio Coda, at 2280 metres in the heart of the reserve, is run by the CAI section of Pont-Saint-Martin and offers a genuine mountain-hut experience well away from mainstream tourism. Every year in early July the surrounding meadows host the traditional alpine procession of Mont Mars, a ceremony weaving together religious devotion and the pastoral memory of Walser communities. The stage involves no technical difficulty but demands steady, unrelenting ascent: an early departure allows walkers to enjoy the raking morning light on the eastern peaks and to arrive at the hut with comfortable time to spare before evening.

Along the route: from Perloz (1148 m), the path passes Lillianes (565 m) — Brief descent to valley floor, springs near the stream; Mont Mars (2600 m) — Panoramic ridge with emerald glacial tarns, to Rifugio Coda (2280 m). Along the way you reach the Coda refuge, a useful base. The skyline is dominated by Mont Mars (2600 m), Mont Nery (3075 m), Monte Rosa (4634 m).