Nature: Challand-Saint-Victor, Emarèse, Saint-Vincent, ** Valle d'Aosta **

The Mont Avic Park, first natural park in the Aosta Valley, preserves since 1989 the natural resources of the upper Chalamy stream valley in the municipality of Champdepraz and, since 2003 the Dondena valley, in the territory of Champorcher.

The protected area is characterised by extremely captivating landscapes and environments only marginally affected by human activities.
Crossing the paths that meander through the protected area gives visitors the chance to come into contact with particularly interesting and various natural aspects: rugged and characteristic geological formations, floral alpine endimisms and peculiar plant associations tied to the green rock substratum. The largest mountain pine forest (pinus uncinata) in the region with a couple dozen ponds, marshes and peat bog, it is unrivalled in number and in extension in the Aosta Valley. All the most widespread alpine animals in the region are represented.

You can hike along the park paths all year round. Most of the paths are snow-covered from November to May and only advisable for experts with appropriate equipment. Some paths can be ridden on horseback or on mountain bike.

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Col de Joux (1640m) is a woody pass linking Saint-Vincent with Brusson, and is thus a beautiful alternative route to the road that goes up from Verrès, to reach Val d’Ayas.
It runs past charming hamlets and goes through beautiful woods, providing wonderful views of the central valley and Val d’Ayas.
The word “Joux” has pre-Latin origins and means woody highland, however, can also be traced to the Latin Jugum, yoke, and hence hill.
Col de Joux also hosts the final Ayas section of Ru Courtod, an irrigated canal coming from the Ventina glacier and dating back to the 14th century.
Several trails of varying difficulty start here, for example those leading to Testa Comagna or Col Tzecore, but you can also go for a pleasant walk along the private road towards Sommarèse, or towards Pallu, with its artificial lake.

A glacial lake, with water from the subsoil, a niche of interesting species

The Lake Villa nature reserve was established in 1982 and covers 25 hectares at altitudes between 810 and 980 meters.

An oasis of peace where you can listen to the sounds of nature and admire the surrounding mountains. It is interesting to visit it in every season, to admire the colors of the changing leaves, as well as the plant and animal species that inhabit it.

Here is some information on the protected area:

• Environment: low mountain lake-marsh basin characterised by a clear contrast between the marshy lake area and surrounding dry area.
• Fauna: the nature reserve represents the main reproduction station on the regional level for the common toad. Some of the local reptiles include the lizard and the coluber while the fish fauna is made up of cyprinids and eels.
• Flora: the lake waters are home to two floating plants, rare in Valle d’Aosta, the white waterlily and the amphibian lily. The reed field is mainly populated by marsh reeds. Shrubs include hygrophilous woods near the shores and Scots pine and downy oaks on the surrounding sunny slopes.

It may be interesting to combine a visit to Lake Villa with a walk along path 11 which connects Lake Villa to Col d'Arlaz (along stage 6 of the Cammino Balteo trail, Challand-Saint-Victor - Saint-Vincent path) to discover the artistic path with works created using natural materials.

Accessibility
The lake site can be reached by everyone, even by people with disabilities: in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the path that leads to the lake, there is in fact a parking lot for the disabled and the road surface has been completely paved, to also allow wheelchairs to move comfortably .

How to get there
The municipal road which leads to the site is well indicated at the junction, along the regional road 45 of the Ayas Valley, after the village of Challand-Saint-Victor (a signboard indicates “Natural Reserve of Lake Villa”). 2,5 km after this junction, you will reach a small parking located directly on the side of the road. There you will find a signboard with the description of the site and its principal trails.

The Evançon stream originates from the streams fed by the glaciers of Monte Rosa. It flows down to the valley, near the hamlet of Targnod, in Challand-Saint-Victor, squeezed between the high rock walls, and it forms a picturesque waterfall with a drop of almost fifty meters.

The area is also of historical interest as it is linked to the ancient mines of Sache: one of the entrances to this field is visible on the side to the left of the jet of water.

The path to the waterfall (20 minutes’ walk) starts from the municipal road that connects the village of Isollaz to the penultimate bend downstream of Targnod, a hamlet of Challand-Saint-Victor. It is advisable to park in Isollaz, a hamlet which, in itself deserves a visit also for its parish church, and you can get to it from regional road 45 of the Val d’Ayas.
Once you have parked your car, walk along the municipal road that goes from Isollaz towards S.R. 45 downstream from Targnod for about 5 minutes, until you reach the sign “Cascata di Isollaz” on the left. The path goes down quite a steep incline, with steps carved out in soil and rock, and so they can be slippery if it is humid or after it has rained. The descent reaches a clearing where you turn left and the path, flanked by a fence, becomes flat and follows the course of the stream. After passing two benches you arrive at the astonishing view of the waterfall.

Col Dondeuil is a saddle between Becca Torché and Corno del Lago which covers Mont Crabun. Along with Col Ranzola, it was the easiest and most used road between the valleys of Ayas Gressoney. It was used for military manoeuvres in 1800 and was fortified by the Austrians; French troops crossed it on their way to battle in Ivrea. The hill offers beautiful views of the lower valley and far-off Mont Blanc.

The wide terrace on which the village of Erésaz stands offers a very pleasant and peaceful landscape which echoes a rural environment from another era. Walking around the village, we feel ourselves embraced by a sense of mystery that has always stimulated the imagination and curiosity of its inhabitants, who found themselves up against a cave from which a current of icy air flows out, a lake that is there yet not there, a rocky gendarme that watches over the valley and immense stone quarries positioned between stupendous forests. The area is clearly dry and barren, but the strangeness of the site has led people to believe that a fossil glacier buried by a large landslide is hidden underground and that in a certain sense it interferes with the environment above.
Near the inhabited area of Emarèse there are several geomorphological particularities that are apparently quite different from each other, but in fact they are the manifestation of the same phenomenon.
After approximately a half hour walk from the centre of Erésaz, we reach the “Borna da ghiasa”, that is, “the ice hole”, referred to by this name due to the icy temperatures present there throughout the year, up to a short time ago the ravine was an excellent ice-box, which was useful for the conservation of food during the summer season.
A little eastwards with respect to Erésaz, you will notice a large depression in the land, Lake Lot, in reality it only fills up sporadically and for this reason, it is called by the inhabitants of the area “Lago Fantasma” (Ghost Lake).
Further east, proceeding along the trail that leads to Challant, having crossed the debris-covered slopes, you will reach Bec de l’Uja, a sort of rocky pinnacle, the shape of which recalls the beak of an eagle, from which its name originates.
These and other elements certainly find no explanation in the existence of an underground glacier, but rather, they are the more or less direct expression of a gravitative movement of the entire slope, which tends to slide slowly downwards, causing fractures in the rock, breaking up large portions of the slope and giving rise to decidedly unique geological elements. This phenomenon goes by the name DGPV, that is Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformation.

How to get there

Exit the A5 motorway at Châtillon and proceed along the S.S. 26 in the direction of St. Vincent, then follow the signposts for Col du Joux. After approximately 20 minutes, you will reach the inhabited area of Erésaz, in the municipality of Emarèse, and near the Municipality you will easily be able to find parking.