A walk round Lac du Tueda nature reserve and the refuge du Plan

Obtain a walking map from either Meribel or Mottaret Tourism Office or the lift pass office and make your way to Mottaret, either on foot, skis/snowboard or by taking the free bus. Make sure you are equipped with a good pair of boots and take one of the many walking trails in the area.

Walks range from an easy going stroll around the lake to a two to four hour hike up into the hills to try and find the mysterious Refuge du Saut.

I recently went for a walk somewhere in the middle of this scale and did a two hour round trip (including a hot chocolate and a game of cards) up past the lake and a little way into the hills to a restaurant called the ‘Refuge du Plan’ and back down to return via the other side of the lake.

My girlfriend and I took snowshoes with us as there had been a large amount of snow recently but I felt slightly silly as people in hiking boots and their dogs overtook us. However, my girlfriend’s boots were particularly slippery on the snow so she was pleased for the grip provided by the snowshoes.

As we entered the valley we walked with the lake on our left and followed the pedestrian path past the lake where it began to wind gently uphill into the valley. As well as the expected towering pine trees lining the hills, there are also Japanese Pines here, which are quite unusual for this area. They stand out against the normal pines and look like gigantic bonsai trees. It’s very easy to forget that you are in the Three Valleys for a moment.

Eventually we came to a fork where an arrow pointing right directed us to the Refuge du Saut approximately two hours away. We had a shorter hike in mind so stuck to the left and a little while later we came across the Refuge du Plan Restaurant, visible from the trail to the right.

We took our snowshoes off and went inside, pleasantly surprised to find it bustling with people, mainly French, enjoying fondues, tartiflettes, soup, wine and hot drinks. All of them had arrived either on foot, snowshoes or cross-country skis and there was a congenial atmosphere all round.

Everyone in there had earned their lunches or drinks and was enjoying them all the more for it. We had a hot chocolate each and grabbed a pack of playing cards from the windowsill for a few games while we warmed up.

I’m now secretly looking forward to the next bad weather day so that I can head back up for a tartiflette and let some more friends in on the secret. I think I’ll leave the snowshoes at home this time though.