RIF-BEL - Rando Guillestrois

Access
L’itinéraire démarre en face de l’office de tourisme de Guillestre (sur la route
qui part derrière la cabane à pizza). Une fois sur le chemin de la Grande
Selve, suivre à droite le balisage jaune qui emmène jusqu’au départ.
RIF-BEL
- GUILLESTRE
Advised parking
Oui
Duration
2 h 30
Transport
Gap-Briançon bus line.
Length
6.2 km
Trek ascent
150 m
Difficulty
Easy
Type
Loop
This project is co-financed by the European Union through
FEDER Massif Alpin.
Powered by http://geotrek.fr
Attribution:Le village de Guillestre vu de Risoul (CCG)
This short and easy loop starts in Guillestre town
centre and is perfect for family strolls. It also gives
the possibility to discover the geologic specificity of
Guillestre: its pink marble.
Trek
The itinerary starts in front of the Guillestre tourism office (on the road going
behind the pizza hut). Once you have reached the Grand Selve trail, follow the
yellow markings to the right that lead to the starting point. When you reach the
Queyras road, you need to cross over and take the trail going left up to the
Lauze. On the trail, turn directly to the right. Alongside the trail, you will find a
canal with tall poplars overhanging to the left and hayfields spreading to the
edge of the wood to the right. Higher, you can see the Guillestre pink marble
quarry. Once you have reached the Lauze, follow the road up to the ‘Chazal’
housing lot and take the road going up to the right. On the trail of Combe
Chauve, turn right at the junction. The trail goes past a ONF panel (the French
National Forests Office). After about 200 m, the trail meets with a path edging
a canal that heads right just below. Take this trail for about 500 m, and then
turn left onto a small path going up into a forest of sparse pines. This trail goes
through a small dell alongside the mountain. Continuing in the undergrowth, it
heads down for a few bends (interesting flora: the savin juniper, a creeping
species of junipers) bringing you out above the Rif-Bel farm. The circuit reaches
the road and goes right towards Guillestre. Further ahead, it goes alongside the
pink marble quarry workshop and goes returns to the starting point on the
Queyras
road.Topoguide
"HIKING, On foot in the Guillestrois – Great WALKS" - Guidebook sold in tourism
offices in the area.
⚠ Advice
Shared itinerary: a part of the trail is also part of a mountain bike circuit.
On the way...
Altimetric profile
Salva fountain
Walled Town
Rif-Bel - Page 2/4 - Edition of 10 février 2017
Max elevation : 1230 m
Notre Dame d'Aquilon Church
Fairgrounds
'B'
Eygliers tower
Min elevation : 1080 m
'A'
'C'
'E'
Medieval house
'F'
'D'
RIF-BEL
- GUILLESTRE
Salva fountain
'A'
Many fountains were also built to honor great men or events.
Joseph Salva was one such figure: a tireless construction
manager who achieved a great deal to improve the water
supply to agricultural land including the construction of the
Cristillan floodway in the Ceillac valley among many others.
Today these channels still exist, managed and maintained by
the canal association (ASA).
(Attribution : Fontaine Salva, Guillestre)
Walled Town
'B'
Nothing now remains of the Guillestre Castle dating from the
13th century, although manuscripts from the time confirm its
presence. However the towers and ramparts that are still
visible show that Guillestre was heavily fortified and bear
witness to the protective role it played in those days.
(Attribution : Plan de l'enceinte de Guillestre avant 1692)
Eygliers tower
'C'
Voici l'une des tours de l'enceinte fortifiée de Guillestre. Les
travaux de construction sont en cours en 1397 lorsque la tour
s’effondre sur elle-même, pour cause de malfaçons. L’ironie
du sort veut que ce soit aujourd’hui la tour la mieux
conservée de l’ancienne fortification !. Site fermé.
(Attribution : tour d'Eygliers, Guillestre)
Rif-Bel - Page 3/4 - Edition of 10 février 2017
Notre Dame d'Aquilon Church
'D'
In the centre of Guillestre you will find the majestic Notre
Dame d'Aquilon Church with its imposing door with its
famous Stylophore lions (from the Greek word meaning
bearer of a column) typical of Lombard architecture that can
also be found in other Guillestre churches. Note the use of
local construction materials: tufa stone, pink Guillestre
marble and larch wood roof shingles.
(Attribution : Eglise Notre Dame d'Aquilon)
Fairgrounds
'E'
Ici se tenait la célèbre foire de la Saint-Luc où Français et
Italiens des vallées voisines venaient vendre et acheter leurs
bestiaux. Si l’emplacement a changé, la foire agricole de la
Saint-Luc se déroule toujours chaque année en octobre. C’est
probablement l’une des plus grandes foires agricoles des
Hautes-Alpes, et sûrement la plus ancienne, puisque son
origine remonte au Moyen-âge.
(Attribution : Carte postale ancienne, Guillestre, vue générale)
Medieval house
'F'
Ici vous pouvez encore voir la façade en bois d'une maison du
XVème qui abritait la boutique d’un artisan et son logis audessus. Avec ses remparts, Guillestre est une cité sûre. La
population se fait donc de plus en plus nombreuse et la place
vient à manquer. Pour tenter de gagner de l’espace, certaines
maisons sont astucieusement agrandies au-dessus des
ruelles, créant ainsi de pittoresques passages abrités, comme
vous pouvez le voir ici. Ce site est privé, non accessible au public.
(Attribution : Maison médiévale, rue Sani)
Rif-Bel - Page 4/4 - Edition of 10 février 2017