8 October, 2014
I slept in until 09:30 and only left Mountain Highs Chamonix at 11am. I was tired after my previous day which was spent mostly on train travel from Paris to Chamonix. 15 minutes later I arrived at the L’Aiguille du Midi cable car station but learnt that it was currently closed due to strong winds.
I took a stroll through town visiting all my favourite adventure clothing brand stores: Patagonia, The North Face, etc. The prices were a little steep so I did not end up purchasing anything. I explored more of the Chamonix City center that morning.
There’s a beautiful church:
Store with British goods:
Nice cafes in town (with epic views):
A yoga studio:
Snowboard and mountain bike hire:
I’d love to live in town, but unfortunately saw an indication of the home prices at a real estate shop. Property in Chamonix is quite out of my budget,
I decided to visit the Tourist Office to find out if there were any short (+-3 hour) hikes that I could take for the day. The friendly lady at the Tourist Office advised me to go on the hike to Chalet La Floria. She gave me a map and indicated where I need to start (on Chemin de la Floria road).
Chamonix is at 1057m altitude and Chalet La Flora is at 1337m. It’s a 45 to 60 minute uphill hike to reach the chalet.
Through a beautiful forest:
It was a good thing that I had some M&M’s (emergency snacks) and water in my backpack as I didn’t stock up in town. If I was short of water I think the water is safe to drink from the streams on the trail.
I reached the beautiful chalet surrounded and covered in flowers, and was welcomed by the friendly caretaker / coffee shop manager.
There were a few hikers enjoying some snacks there.
That’s me standing at the entrance.
It was slightly warmer on this Autumn day inside, but I decided to indulge myself with a slice of blueberry cake topped with cream and an ice cold lemonade outside. I used this opportunity to take some good photos of Mont Blanc
With me:
The Mont Blanc Massif and Chamonix town:
Zooming into Chamonix:
Aiguille du Dru
Instead of returning to Chamonix on the trail from Chamonix I decided to take the trail to Les Praz, a town beside Chamonix, and follow the river back into Chamonix.
Coming down I crossed over the Petit Balcon Sud trail.
That’s Aguille Charlanon and the Grand Floria mountain peak behind me.
I walked through a beautiful forest and saw some mountain bikers riding on the trail.
I made a right turn onto Promenade des Vorgeats and headed straight towards Les Praz.
There is a beautiful golf course in this town.
With views of amazing mountain peaks on all sides:
I continued on Promenade des Moullles des Praz.
Took photos of a beautiful church in Les Praz
Walked pass the Tennis club
Unfortunately some buildings in this pristine destination were defaced with graffiti.
I then followed the river back to Chamonix for 2km.
Before sunset I was back in Chamonix town.
I ate halal food at the Turkish Restaurant Cappedocie in town that night, and headed back to Mountain Highs Chamonix where I stayed up till late chatting with the other guests.
I visited Chamonix on my own. If you’re interested in visiting as part of an active group tour, consider the options by G Adventures or Intrepid Travel who have free days in their itinerary for you to see some of these sites or hike to Chalet La Flora on your own / with your group.
