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Cascade du Dard and Belvedere des Bossons

6

Overall rating

Above Average

Trail Length

Length

4.1km

Trail Elevation

Elevation + / -

337m / 337m

Trail Type

Trail type

Out and Back

When to go on this trail

When to go

End Apr - End Oct

Hiking duration for this trail

Hike duration

1.5 - 2.5 Hours

Altitude range for this trail

Altitude Range

1234m / 1566m

Technical difficulty level for this trail

Technical level

Moderate (3/5)

Natural beauty rating for this trail

Natural beauty

Nice (3/5)

Run duration for this trail

Run duration

45 - 75 Mins

Kids age requirement for this trail

Families

7+ Years old

Are dogs allowed on this trail

Dogs

Dogs Allowed

Are there provision sources on this trail

Provision Sources

2 Snack Bars

Contributors:

This trail visits the very popular Cascade du Dard, the biggest waterfall near the center of Chamonix. The Buvette de la Cascade du Dard is located right next to the waterfall and provides a great location for a meal or a snack. From there we make up our way back to the carpark and start a short climb and cross below the highway leading up to the Mont Blanc Tunnel. We then cross a nice suspension bridge and make our way to the parking for the trail leading to the Buvette du Cero. This little snack bar has a nice deck looking out over the deep gulley that has been cut out by the Glacier des Bossons glacier. From the buvette we take the trail that continues on and passes by 3 viewing points. The first 2 are very close by but don't provide much of a view of the glacier. Reaching the last viewing point at the Belevede du Glacier des Bossons takes a bit longer but has by far the best view. An optional additional short trail leads to the memorial for the 1950 Air India Malabar Princess crash featuring a stone mound with a plaque and a part of the plane. 


The trail we present here starts at the parking nearest to the Cascade du Dard. We have a detailed trail description for the route from Chamonix center to the Cascade du Dard and you could combine both trails to start of from Chamonix. Alternate starting points are in Les Bossons and Les Pelerins.

Video of this Trail

We have made a video presentation for this trail. Please visit our channel on  YouTube and like the video and subscribe to our channel. Putting together these videos is quite a bit of work.

Photos of this Trail

We have a large library of pictures from in and around the Chamonix Valley. All pictures are categorized and geo location tagged. These are the pictures we have for this trail. Click on any picture to view it's details and location.

Trail Directions & Safety Considerations

Age requirement for kids on this trail

Children

7+ Years old

Dog rules on this trail

Dogs

We recommend to keep your dog on a leash

Best time to go on this trail

When to Go

End Apr - End Oct

Risk considerations for this trail

Risk Considerations & Difficulty Assessment

The trail reaches an altitude of 1564 meters and should be snow free from the end of April to the end of October. The trail is very well  marked with very few juntions. Navigating the trail will be easy. The path up to the Belvedere is steep but not overly technical. The optional visit to the 1950 airplane crash memorial is unmarked, rocky and more technical. 

Starting point for this trail

Trail Starting Point

The trail starts at the Cascade du Dard parking. By car you can reach this parking by taking the highway up to the entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel. There will be signs indicating the Cascade du Dard. If you don't have a car available to you, then the easiest option will be to take the trail up to the Cascade du Dard from Chamonix. There are trails leading up to the Cascade from Chamonix-Sud and specifically the big Grepon Parking.

Step by step trail directions

Trail Directions

From the carpark nearest to the Cascade du Dard simply follow the signs for the cascade. You cannot miss it. You will pass by the buvette first and then the waterfall is just little further down. After you are done at the waterfall and buvette make your way back to the parking and look for the trail marker that indicates the Chalet du Cerro. This trail will have you duck below the highway and cross a suspension bridge before arriving at the Cerro parking. From there keep following the signs for the Chalet du Cerro. After the chalet, follow the signs for the "point de vue". Keep following this trail until you reach the Belevedere de Glacier des Bossons. You will notice a path on the right side of the viewing deck that seems to be used quite frequenty. This path, although not marked, can be used to reach the memorial site for the 1950 airplane crash. Once you are done visiting the Belevedere and/or the memorial, simply make you way back down and use the same trail to get back to the Cascade du Dard parking.

Points of Interest for this Trail

We have a large database of all of the points of interests in and around Chamonix. These are the points of interest you will find along this trail:

Buvette de la Cascade du Dard

8

Our Rating

Very Good

Snack Bar

Snack Bar right next to the beautiful Cascade du Dard waterfall near Chamonix

Nearest town for this point of interest

Nearest Town

Chamonix

Altitude of this point of interest

Altitude

1235m

View on Map
Malabar Princess Memorial Bossons

8

Our Rating

Very Good

Memorial

Nicely situated memorial near the Belvedere de Glacier des Bossons

Nearest town for this point of interest

Nearest Town

Chamonix

Altitude of this point of interest

Altitude

1630m

View on Map
Buvette du Cerro

7

Our Rating

Good

Snack Bar

Snack Bar near 3 viewing points for the Glacier des Bossons

Nearest town for this point of interest

Nearest Town

Chamonix

Altitude of this point of interest

Altitude

1358m

View on Map

3D Map & GPS

Trail Route Map & GPS

You can download the GPX file and load this route into your own GPS enabled device or application. If you are on Strava, then you can open this route in Strava and save it to your account.

Open this trail in Strava

3D Map of this Trail

FATMAP in an incredible website and mobile application that you can use to view the trail in full 3D, do a fly over of the route and get a detailed vertical profile. You can view the FATMAP of this trail below and use the 'View larger map' link to visit the trail on the FATMAP website.

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