Highlights of Mont Blanc

The trip starts today at our Alpine chalet-style hotel in the village of Les Houches in the Chamonix Valley. Your Tour Leader plans to meet everyone in the hotel reception at 6pm for a welcome meeting. Afterwards, we'll enjoy an included dinner together at the hotel. Hotel du Bois is our home for the week. With a relaxed atmosphere, indoor swimming pool, sauna and gardens with views across the Mont Blanc range, it makes for the perfect walkers' base. There's a cosy bar and restaurant serving local specialties and homemade dishes. It's easy to reach our joining hotel in Les Houches independently; an arrival transfer is not included with this tour. We recommend using the Mountain Drop Offs shared shuttle bus service which departs regularly from Geneva Airport throughout the day and takes just over an hour. The shuttle will drop you at the door of the hotel, tickets cost €50 and can be booked online at https://www.mountaindropoffs.com/. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up. Please note that the official check-in time at the hotel is from 3 pm, although rooms will be allocated as soon as they are available. If you arrive earlier in the day and wish to explore, the lively centre of Chamonix with its many shops and pavement cafes is just 15 minutes away by local bus.

We set out this morning from the hotel on a walk to Chamonix, following the side of the valley along a section of a longer route known as the Petit Balcon Sud. Although this is an easy and relatively low level hike, there are some excellent views through the trees of the glaciers and ridges that descend from Mont Blanc across the other side of the Chamonix valley. Reaching the town we'll take a short break, perhaps enjoying a morning coffee at one the many pavement cafes, before continuing alongside the River Arve to Paradis du Praz, a beautiful spot among the trees, where we can enjoy our included picnic lunch in a shaded spot. In the afternoon, you've the choice of either continuing on the hike or you can decide not to walk and spend the afternoon as you like, perhaps browsing the shops in Chamonix or maybe relaxing in the garden or taking a dip in the indoor swimming pool, back at our hotel. Our afternoon hiking route climbs up through the woods (an ascent of some 300 metres/984 feet) to the pretty mountain cafe of Chalet La Floria with its wonderful flowers and superb views down to the Chamonix Valley below. We then descend back down to the bottom of the valley, eventually returning to Chamonix, with time for a look around the town. Chamonix is a famous mountain resort, popular year round with outdoor enthusiasts, adventure seekers and nature lovers. Occupying a simply stunning setting below the snow-capped peaks of the Mont Blanc Massif, it has a charming Alpine ambience with an array of shops, restaurants and cafes. A frequent bus service connects Chamonix to Les Houches and it's also possible to make the journey by train. You'll be provided with a public transport travel pass at the start of the week that includes all travel on the local buses and trains within the Chamonix Valley and it's easy to get around. The morning walk of 12 kilometres/7.50 miles will take us around three-and-a-half hours and is pretty much on the flat. Our optional walk in the afternoon is 5 kilometres/3.10 miles and will take around two-and-a half hours with a total ascent and descent of 300 metres/984 feet each way.

This morning we walk from our hotel to the Bellevue cable car which carries us up the side of the valley to an elevation of 1800 metres/5906 feet in a matter of minutes. Exiting from the cable car, we are on the Grand Balcon Nord, part of the famous Tour du Mont Blanc trekking route and an amazing spot from which to view Western Europe's highest mountain, Mont Blanc (4810m/15781ft), looming high above. This is also the starting point of the main route for climbing Mont Blanc and we may see some mountaineers returning from the summit. We can enjoy views of the Contamines Valley, Mont Joly and towards the Aravais mountain range. From here our hike descends to the Col du Voza (1653m/5423ft) and then up to Le Prarion, a small peak at 1969m/6460ft with spectacular 360 degree views. We then make our descent through the forest back to Les Houches. For anyone not wishing to make this 1000 metre/3281ft descent, you can save your knees and take the cable car. Today's 13 kilometre/8.10 miles walk is expected to take around 4 to 5 hours with a total ascent of 300m/984ft and a descent of 1150m/3773ft which can be reduced by 1000m/3281ft (and five-and-a-half kilometres) by taking the cable car back down.

This morning we travel by local bus along the length of the Chamonix Valley, passing some beautiful scenery and iconic mountains such the Les Drus and the Aiguille d'Argentiere. Our hike starts at the Col du Montets (1461m/4793ft), the gateway to the Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve. We can take a look at the visitor centre before setting out to the pretty hamlet of Le Buet (1300m/4265ft), a hike of around an hour. From here we take a short walk to the river and then climb up through meadows to Les Cascades du Berard - waterfalls in a lovely setting (1400m/4593ft). There's a cafe here for some welcome refreshment. Continuing alongside the river we hike further into the forest of the Berard Valley. A short climb brings us to Les Granges (1566m/5138ft), a hamlet with summer houses and a viewpoint of the Mont Blanc range from the east. Descending via a different route, we take the train or a local bus back to Les Houches. Today's 8 kilometre/5.0 miles walk is expected to take around 4 to 5 hours with a total ascent of 300m/984ft and descent of 500m/1640ft.

Today has been left free and your Leader will be able to advise on the many options available. One of the most poular activities is to take a ride up the 2 spectacular cable cars to the Aiguille du Midi (3842m/12605ft) for arguably the finest view in the Alps. At this height you are among the great Alpine peaks and glaciers, with unimpeded views on a clear day from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn over 60 kilometres/37.30 miles away. The brave-hearted can experience the thrill of 'Step into the Void', a glass box that allows visitors to stand above a precipitous drop, giving the sensation of floating in mid-air. Another unique excursion is taking the old cog-railway to Montenvers from where you can take a series of steps down to the Mer de Glace and go inside the glacier itself. For those after an even more active day, mountain bike hire is available, there are whitewater rafting trips that can be booked or you could even choose to go on another hike.

We take a bus ride along the Chamonix Valley to Le Tour, a small, pretty village at the head of the valley at 1462m/4797ft above sea level. From here we take a gondola lift to Charamillon at 1850m/6070ft and then change and take a chair lift up to Les Autannes at 2195m/7202ft. We are high above the trees and are in marmot country where you can hear the shrill whistles from enthusiastic young males. We hike to the Col de Balme at 2190m/7185ft which marks the border between France and Switzerland and you can literally have one foot in each country! The panoramic views are of the Trient Glacier, Swiss mountains and the Emosson Dam. Leaving the Col, we make an ascent of the Aiguillettes des Possettes, 2201m/7251ft, for even better views before returning to the valley floor via the gondola lift. Today's 8 kilometre/5.0 miles walk is expected to take around 4 to 5 hours with a total ascent of 300m/984ft and descent of up to 500m/1640ft.

We catch a bus this morning to the village of Les Praz, from where it's a short telecabin ride to the Chalet de la Flegere (1871m/6139ft). Our hike takes us along on a section of the famous Tour du Mont Blanc to Lac Blanc (2352m/7717ft) for incredible panoramic views of the whole Mont Blanc range. It's approximately two-to two-and-a-half hours to the lake and this spectacular walk is a fitting end to the holiday with magnificent views all around. We descend to Chalet de la Flegere and return to Chamonix via a forest walk. For those with tired legs, you can choose to take the cable car back down to the valley floor. Today's 10 kilometre/6.20 miles walk is expected to take around 6 hours with a total ascent of 470m/1542ft and descent of up to 1300m/4265ft depending on the route taken.

The trip ends today after breakfast at our hotel in Les Houches. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Les Houches at any time. If you are departing later in the day luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. It's easy to reach Geneva Airport independently; a departure transfer is not included with this tour. We recommend using the Mountain Drop Offs shared shuttle bus service which runs regularly throughout the day and takes just over an hour to the airport. Tickets cost €50 and can be booked online at https://www.mountaindropoffs.com/.