Champoluc

Updated October 2026 · Sources: Monterosa Ski, Aosta Valley Region (lovevda.it), italia.it, ISTAT, RFI, VITA

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Champoluc sits at 1,568 metres in the upper Val d’Ayas, at the foot of Monte Rosa, in Italy’s Aosta Valley. It is not a municipality in its own right: it is the best-known village of the municipality of Ayas, whose town hall is in Antagnod (1,710 m). The nearest airport is Turin Caselle, about 107 km away; Milan Malpensa is about 169 km and Geneva about 217 km. From the Verrès exit on the A5 motorway it is about 28 km up the valley road.

The village lies on the valley floor along the Évançon, the stream that rises at the Verra glacier. Around it are dozens of hamlets: Frachey and Saint-Jacques further up, Antagnod on the sunny side, and the Walser villages of Crest, Mascognaz and Cunéaz on the slopes. The municipality of Ayas has around 1,380 residents spread over almost 130 km².

In winter Champoluc is the Ayas valley’s gateway to Monterosa Ski, the area that links the Ayas valley, the Gressoney valley and Alagna in Valsesia on skis. In summer it is a hiking base: easy forest walks, Walser villages, high lakes and, for mountaineers, the huts used to climb Monte Rosa’s 4,000-metre peaks. Compared with the big French and Swiss resorts it is quieter, with wide pistes and a village feel.

Champoluc is small and easy to explore on foot. The main sights are in the village, in the hamlets around it and along the trails that start in the centre.

The old village and Sant’Anna church

The heart of Champoluc is the old quarter above the main road: stone and timber houses, narrow lanes and a few painted façades. The parish church is dedicated to St Anne. Today’s church is modern; the old church next door has been turned into a cinema. Along the main street you will find shops, bars, ski hire and the base station of the gondola to Crest.

Champoluc tourist office

The Ayas-Champoluc tourist office is at Route Varasc 16, in a chalet at the entrance to the village, and is open all year. It has trail maps, bus timetables and event listings. Opening hours change with the season: check lovevda.it, the regional tourism website.

Pian Villy woods and adventure park

The Pian Villy woods are the easiest walk in Champoluc. Trail 1B starts near the mountain guides’ office, follows the Évançon, passes the big lift car park and goes under a wooden arch into the spruce forest as far as Frachey: 2.6 km, 47 metres of ascent, about 45 minutes. It is wide and flat, fine for pushchairs.

Along the way there are wooden sculptures by Aosta Valley artists, with new ones carved every year during the Ayas Artisanat festival. There is a picnic area. In winter the path is groomed and lit. Near the gondola base there is an adventure park with treetop courses for children: check opening times and minimum ages before you go.

Mascognaz waterfalls

The Mascognaz waterfalls are ten minutes from the centre. From the tourist office walk up the paved road beside the Mascognaz stream to a small wooden bridge, then turn left onto trail 14D. It is the right walk with small children; in June, with the snowmelt, they carry the most water.

Mascognaz, the Walser village

From the same bridge, trail 14 climbs to the right in about an hour to the Walser village of Mascognaz at 1,820 metres: 260 metres of ascent, all through the forest, with three small chapels on the way. Just before the village you come out onto meadows and reach the little square with its fountain.

Mascognaz is a cluster of rascards, the traditional Walser houses of timber on a stone base. From the village you see the whole upper Ayas valley, from Monte Zerbion to the Monte Rosa glaciers. The Walser, German-speaking settlers from the Swiss Valais, moved into the upper valley in the Middle Ages: Saint-Jacques was known as the “Canton des Allemands”.

Crest

Crest is the Walser village above Champoluc, at about 1,980 metres, where the gondola arrives. In winter it is where the pistes start; in summer it is a viewpoint over Monte Rosa with easy trails to small lakes and mountain huts.

Antagnod

Antagnod, at 1,710 metres and about 5 km from Champoluc, is the main village of the Ayas municipality, on a sunny terrace facing Monte Rosa. The church of San Martino, with its large baroque wooden altar, the richest in the valley, is worth a visit. The parish museum of sacred art holds a rare “shrine Madonna”.

In the centre of the village is the Maison Fournier, a historic house with a long wooden balcony and a round stair tower. It hosts the valley’s permanent crafts exhibition, including traditional wooden clogs (sabots). On foot from Champoluc it is about an hour and a half on trails 15 and 105 (150 metres of ascent), via the hamlet of Pilaz.

Saint-Jacques

Saint-Jacques is the last village in the valley, where the road and the bus line end. It was the centre of the upper valley’s Walser community, with the church of San Giacomo. Trails to the Pian di Verra, Lago Blu and the high mountain huts start here.

Monterosa Terme wellness centre

Monterosa Terme is in Champoluc, at Piazzale Ramey 1, near the lift car park. It is a wellness centre rather than a natural hot spring: pools at around 34°C with hydromassage, a lap pool, an outdoor pool with a view of Monte Rosa, a shallow pool for young children, saunas, steam rooms and massages. Entry must be booked online. A good choice on a bad-weather day or after skiing.

Monte Zerbion and Barmasc sanctuary

Above Antagnod, at Barmasc, the sanctuary of Notre-Dame du Bon Secours is a pilgrimage site with a spring said to be miraculous. From Barmasc, trail 105 climbs Monte Zerbion (2,722 m) along a stone Way of the Cross to the Col Portola, then along the ridge to the large statue of the Madonna on the summit. Allow about two and a half hours up and more than 800 metres of ascent.

Champoluc is part of Monterosa Ski 3 Valli, the area that links the Ayas valley (Champoluc and Frachey), the Gressoney valley and Alagna in Valsesia: more than 100 km of connected pistes. The top point is Punta Indren at 3,275 metres. The 2026/27 season runs from 28 November 2026 to 11 April 2027, snow permitting.

The Champoluc and Frachey pistes

From the centre of Champoluc a gondola climbs to Crest (about 1,980 m); from there another gondola goes to Alpe Ostafa and a chairlift to Colle Sarezza. At Frachey, a few kilometres up the valley, a funicular climbs to Alpe Ciarcerio (1,981 m), and chairlifts continue towards the Colle della Bettaforca, the link to Gressoney. From Gressoney you carry on over the Passo dei Salati to Alagna.

The Champoluc side has wide, mostly red runs, some blacks and easier terrain at Crest for beginners. Skiing all three valleys makes a full day: set off early and check the links are open, because the high lifts can close in strong wind. Live lift and piste status on the Monterosa Ski website.

Lift passes 2026/27

In early October 2026 Monterosa Ski had not yet published its 2026/27 lift pass prices. Passes can be bought online on the official website: check prices, discounts and offers there before you travel. The 3 Valli pass does not include the Monterosa Freeride Paradise lift (Passo dei Salati – Punta Indren), which needs a separate ticket. In Italy third-party liability insurance is compulsory for skiers, and helmets are compulsory up to the age of 18.

Antagnod, off-piste and ski schools

Antagnod has its own small ski area, handy for families, with its own calendar: in 2026/27 it opens on December weekends and daily from 19 December to 14 March 2027. For powder there are off-piste, ski touring and heli-skiing routes, to be done with the Ayas mountain guides, whose office is in Champoluc. Champoluc has ski and snowboard schools, one based at Crest. The area’s snowpark is Castore, at Gabiet above Gressoney-La-Trinité.

Snowshoeing and winter walks

Without skis you can walk the groomed Pian Villy woods or snowshoe from Saint-Jacques up to the Piani di Verra, a classic of the valley. Lago Blu is frozen in winter and should only be reached in safe snow conditions: check the avalanche risk or go with a guide.

In summer the lifts reopen for hikers and mountain bikers. In 2026 the Champoluc–Crest gondola and the Frachey funicular opened on 20 June, the Alpe Ostafa gondola ran daily from 11 July and the Bettaforca chairlifts daily from 1 August. Summer timetables and fares are on the Monterosa Ski website. The walking times below are ascent times only, from the regional trail brochure.

Lago Blu and Pian di Verra

Lago Blu, at 2,221 metres, is the best-known walk in the Ayas valley: a turquoise lake on a glacial moraine below the Rocca di Verra, with the Breithorn and Castor behind. From Saint-Jacques (1,686 m) take trail 7, via the hamlets of Fiery and Beaubois and the lower Pian di Verra: just over 500 metres of ascent, between 1 hour 20 and 2 hours.

From the lake you can carry on to the upper Pian di Verra, the plain below the glacier. In August it gets busy: start early.

The Walser villages loop

The Walser villages loop is the walk that best shows the valley. From Champoluc climb to Mascognaz (trail 14), continue to Cunéaz (2,042 m) and Frantze, drop to Crest and go on via Soussun to Résy (2,066 m), where there are two mountain huts. In all, about 650 metres of ascent and four hours of walking on hiking trails. Return via Frachey or Saint-Jacques.

From Crest to Lago di Contenery

For a lake without too much effort, take the gondola to Crest and follow trail 10A. It passes the Frog Lake and Rifugio Belvedere, with views of Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn, and reaches Lago di Contenery (2,354 m) in about an hour and a half, with 428 metres of ascent. Another half hour takes you to Lago Ciarcerio.

Rifugio Guide di Ayas and the 4,000-metre peaks

Trails to the high huts start from the upper Pian di Verra. Rifugio Guide di Ayas, at about 3,400 metres above the Verra glacier, is the base for Castor (4,226 m), Pollux (4,091 m) and the Breithorn. From Saint-Jacques it is about 1,750 metres of ascent via Rifugio Mezzalama, with the last section on the glacier: this is a mountaineering route, for people with the right gear and experience or with a mountain guide.

Biking, adventure park and easy days

With the lifts open you can take your mountain bike up the mountain. For a quiet day: Pian Villy woods, the waterfalls, the adventure park and the wellness centre. If it rains, Antagnod and the Maison Fournier.

• Gressoney: in winter on skis, over the Colle della Bettaforca. By car you have to go back down to the main valley: about 70–75 km. Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Lake Gover and Castel Savoia.
• Alagna Valsesia: on skis, via Gressoney and the Passo dei Salati. The Walser village on the Piedmont side of Monte Rosa.
• Breuil-Cervinia (about 67 km, just over an hour): the Matterhorn from the south and high-altitude skiing up to the Swiss border.
• Chamois: the car-free village of the Valtournenche, reached by cable car. Same road as Cervinia.
• Fort Bard (about 36 km, 40 minutes): the 19th-century fortress guarding the lower Aosta Valley, with the Museum of the Alps and temporary exhibitions.
• Aosta (about 60 km, an hour): the regional capital, with its Roman theatre, Porta Pretoria and Arch of Augustus.

Choose your area by how you ski, whether you have a car and what you want to spend.

• Champoluc centre: for skiers and for arriving without a car. You can walk to the Crest gondola, the bus stop, shops and restaurants. Hotels of every category, residences and apartments.
• Frachey: for early starts towards the Bettaforca and Gressoney, with the funicular on your doorstep. Quieter, fewer services.
• Antagnod: for families and anyone after sun and a quiet village. Small ski area of its own; for the main area you need a car or the ski bus.
• Saint-Jacques: in summer, for hikers and mountaineers, right at the start of the trails to Lago Blu and the huts.
• Walser villages and huts (Crest, Mascognaz, Résy): for something different, up high or in a restored rascard. Reached on foot or by lift.
• Brusson and the lower valley: with a car and a smaller budget, 10–15 minutes from Champoluc.

For a ski week with children, an apartment in the centre or at Frachey is the most practical. Over Christmas and New Year, in February and in August, book well ahead.

By car

Take the A5 Turin–Aosta motorway to the Verrès exit. From there regional road 45 runs about 28 km up the whole Ayas valley, through Challand-Saint-Victor, Challand-Saint-Anselme and Brusson, to Champoluc and Saint-Jacques. From Turin it takes about an hour and a half, from Milan about two and a half hours. From France come through the Mont Blanc Tunnel and down the A5 to Verrès; from Switzerland through the Great St Bernard Tunnel. A scenic alternative climbs from Saint-Vincent over the Col de Joux (1,640 m) to Brusson. The motorway and tunnels are tolled. In winter, carry snow tyres or chains.

By train

The nearest station is Verrès, on the Turin – Chivasso – Ivrea – Aosta line. Note that until 13 December 2026 the Ivrea–Aosta section, which serves Verrès, is replaced by buses during electrification work. Timetables on Trenitalia. From Verrès continue by bus.

By bus

From Verrès station the VITA bus line Verrès – Saint-Jacques stops at Challand-Saint-Victor, Challand-Saint-Anselme, Brusson and Champoluc. Services are not very frequent: check the current seasonal timetable on the VITA website. Taxis and private transfers also operate in the valley.

By air

The closest airport is Turin Caselle, about 107 km away. Then come Milan Malpensa (about 169 km), Linate (about 191 km) and Geneva (about 217 km, via the Mont Blanc Tunnel). For UK skiers, Turin is the shortest transfer when there are ski-season flights; Milan has more flights all year. Without a car, take the train or bus to Verrès, or book a private transfer to Champoluc.

Parking

The main car park is the large lift car park on the edge of the village, next to the wellness centre, a few minutes’ walk from the gondola. At Saint-Jacques, the starting point for Lago Blu, spaces are few and fill up early in summer.

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