Champorcher

The Champorcher Valley ski area, which is part of Monterosa Ski, offers over 21 km of slopes and reaches the maximum altitude of 2,500 meters on the summit of Cimetta Rossa. From Cimetta Rossa you can admire the grandeur of Mount Cervino, the majesty of Mount Rosa and the coveted Alpine peaks of Champorcher: Rosa dei Banchi and Mont Glacier.

Some territories of the Champorcher Valley are part of the Mont Avic Natural Park which covers 5,747 hectares. The park is home to the largest forest of hooked pines in the Aosta Valley. From Champorcher there are hiking trails towards the lakes, hills and forests of the park, where numerous specimens of alpine flora and fauna live, including the rarest species.

The Champorcher Valley is entirely crossed by the Ayasse stream, which rises from the alpine lake of Miserin located at 2,580 m asl, and after 23 km flows into the Dora Baltea. in some places, deep gorges which, by digging the rock, form spectacular waterfalls. For fishing lovers, the Ayasse stream is also a trout fishing reserve.

The Alta via della Valle d’Aosta n. 2, the high naturalistic route that reaches Courmayeur, which crosses the Mont Avic Regional Park and the Gran Paradiso National Park in its first stretch.

The Dondena basin is splendid, crossed by the “royal road”. Dondena was in fact the favorite destination of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy, who had some hunting residences built here, so much so that the whole area was transformed into a royal reserve. An incision in the rock, in the Echelly area, recalls the construction of this road.

In winter the valley is a popular ski destination, thanks to the important slopes of the area.

Curiosity: the name of the locality would derive from Porcier in French, San Porzio in Italian, who escaped the massacre of the Theban Legion and went to the valley where he began to preach, therefore the name Champorcher derives from Campo di Porcier.

Chicca: the track in the woods: for the fastest and most prepared who want to try the track where many national teams are preparing for the World Cup – very demanding!

Not to be missed: if you are looking for an amazing panorama, try the Cimetta Rossa Express chairlift which will take you to an altitude of 2,500 on slope 13, from here you can admire Monte Cervino, Monte Rosa, the Dondena basin, the glaciers of la Rosa. dei Bianchi and Mont Glacier. And after enjoying the view, throw yourself down this arduous and adrenaline-pumping track!

Cross-country skiing: for lovers of cross-country skiing, the Cimetta Rossa half-coast track, easy and panoramic, is not to be missed.

The inhabited center of Champorcher rises at 1427 meters above sea level and is the village that gives its name to the valley.

On the ruins of the castle of the feudal lords, which was destroyed in 1212, around 1400, the church of San Nicola was built, inside which there are precious wooden altars richly decorated in gold. Around the small medieval historic center has remained almost unchanged. Near the church there is a small panoramic viewpoint over the waterfalls that the Ayasse stream forms by throwing itself into the ravine below.

In the last century the valley was the favorite destination of King Vittorio Emanuele II, who owned the royal hunting reserve in Dondena.

To do:

In Champorcher it is possible to witness the processing of hemp fabric done by hand using a wooden frame; sheets, towels, tablecloths, bags, finished with delicate hand embroideries and hems by the Cooperative “Lou Dzeut”. In the immediate vicinity of the Cooperative there is also the Hemp Ecomuseum, located inside an ancient building in the center of the village of Chardonney.

Typical of this area is rye bread, also packaged in a version enriched with chestnuts, cumin and dried fruit, which is baked once a year, on the first Saturday of August, in the community ovens of the villages. Consumed fresh it has a delicious fragrance, it is then stored on special wooden racks called “ratelë” even for several months. Once dried, the bread is broken with a characteristic tool called “Copapan”.

On Lake Miserin there is the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame des Neiges, a place of pilgrimage: the sanctuary, in fact, is an ancient oratory that became famous thanks to miracles that took place in 1630.