High Route 2 — Stage 14: Crest → Donnas
Warnings
- Check weather and residual snow early season
- Book huts in peak season
Map & route
Official GPX track — Aosta Valley Region / lovevda.it
Fitness level
~1569 kcal estimated
Final Alta Via 2 stage: climb to Retempio sanctuary, cross Col Pousseuil and descend to Donnas (330 m).
The grand finale descends among heroic vineyards and chestnut woods to the Dora valley floor: you cross the Donnas Nebbiolo terraces, Europe’s highest for this variety, and enter the village along the Roman road of the Gauls, with its rock-cut arch and medieval borgo. Here Alta Via 2 ends, at 322 metres, having touched 3,296 at the Lauson.
Earth sciences
Geology & landscape
Terraced slopes of the lower Dora Baltea: Mesozoic limestones and calcschists, vineyard paleosols and Würmian fluvial terraces.
History & culture
The Roman road at Donnas, cut into the rock in the 1st century BC with its arch and cart ruts still visible, is the best-preserved stretch of the Gallic road.
Water sources
Fountains and services at Crest-Damon, Donnas and intermediate villages.
Getting there
Trenitalia Donnas station; VITA valley-floor buses.
Parking
Parcheggi comunali nei paesi di valle; verificare limitazioni in alta stagione.
Photo gallery
Photos are published immediately. JPG/PNG/WebP, max 6 MB.
Flora along the trail
Adjacent stages
ACurated and verified by Andrea Rama
Data source: Catasto Sentieri Regione Autonoma VdA — Alta Via n.2 · Open data — DGR 899/2014
Last verified:
Bassa Valle
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