Tour du Rutor — Stage 6: La Rosière → La Thuile

EHikersummer

Distance

17.4 km

Ascent

+373 m

Descent

−863 m

Duration

6.5 h

Fitness level

Map & route

GPX track — verify on the ground before hiking

Description

From La Rosière climb gently to the Little St Bernard pass (2,188 m), with its prehistoric stone circle, hospice and Chanousia botanical garden. Re-enter Italy along the great Verney lake and descend to La Thuile (1,441 m), where the Rutor loop closes.

The farewell crosses one of the most historic passes in the Alps: at the Little St Bernard, an Iron Age stone circle 72 metres across — bisected by the border — shares the col with Jupiter’s column, the medieval hospice and the Chanousia botanical garden, founded in 1897 by Abbot Chanoux with over a thousand alpine species. You re-enter Italy along Lake Verney, the region’s largest natural lake and an anglers’ favourite; then the old military road descends in wide bends to La Thuile, where the Rutor loop closes over a glass of Génépy.

Key points

Col du Petit Saint-Bernard
2188 m · 7.7 km from start

Earth sciences

Geology & landscape

The Rutor group belongs to the outer Penninic domain: micaschists, fine gneisses and Permo-Carboniferous quartzites of the Ruitor zone, with striking folds visible on the walls above the Deffeyes hut. The three lakes and roches moutonnées of the valley are the work of the Rutor glacier, fast retreating yet still the Aosta Valley’s third largest; at the Col du Mont the Versoyen calcschists crop out with relics of oceanic crust.

History & culture

At the Little St Bernard a prehistoric stone circle, Jupiter’s column, the medieval hospice and the Chanousia botanical garden founded in 1897 by abbot Chanoux coexist: Alpine history condensed.

Water sources

Water at the stage's support points (La Rosière, La Thuile). On the high ground and at the passes springs are not guaranteed: fill bottles in the valley and at the huts.

Getting there

Cross-border stage: on the foreign sides local public transport applies (PostAuto in Switzerland, line buses in France/Piedmont). Check seasonal timetables; in peak season several access links run by reservation only.

Warnings