8 Mountain Passes to Explore in Aosta

The Col de Joux is an alpine pass located in the Aosta Valley in the municipality of Saint-Vincent. The pass was in the past very popular, and in particular, it was used by the Valsesian emigrants on their way to Savoy and France who, through the Val Vogna , the Valdobbia and Ranzola hills reached the Col de Joux to continue then passing the city of Aosta and climbing to the Piccolo San Bernardo hill.

The Col Ferret is a mountain pass that connects Orsières in Valais with Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, on the border between Switzerland and Italy, geographically joining the Val Ferret Switzerland with the Italian Val Ferret. This second pass is of particular importance because it separates the Western Alps from the Central Alps, as well as the Mont Blanc Massif from the much lower Grand Golliaz group.

The Bätt pass is a pass in the Pennine Alps at an altitude of 2,727 meters in the Aosta Valley, between the Ayas valley and the Lys valley. This pass is commonly called col de Bettaforcaz, Frenchization of the word Bättfòrkò, meaning precisely col du Bätt in the titsch of Gressoney-La-Trinité. But it should be noted that the toponym Col de Bettaforcaz is in fact a repetition.

The Colle Nivolet is a mountain pass located in Graian, the watershed between the Orco Valley and Valsavarenche, placed all inside the protected area of the Gran Paradiso National Park to the west of the homonymous massif, not far from the Italian- French border to the west. The road that, starting from 1580 m asl of Ceresole Reale climbs for 18.5 km up to the Nivolet hill, was built in 1931, with the main function of allowing easy access to the artificial reservoirs located at an altitude of ab

The Colle San Carlo is a high mountain pass in the Aosta Valley, located on Graian, not far from the Tête d'Arpy, from which it draws the name in French. Starting from Morgex you arrive in La Thuile after 10.5 km, about 1000 m in altitude, with an average gradient of 10% and peaks of 15%, making it one of the toughest cyclings climbs in the Alps.

The upper Colle Delle Cime Bianche is an alpine pass located at 2,980.6 m. slm ., which joins the Valtournenche with the Val d'Ayas in the Valle d'Aosta region. The Colle was of historical importance for the commercial exchanges that took place between the Aosta Valley and the Valais Canton. It is debated whether the Walser in the 13th century arrived in the Lys valley via the Colle del Lys or via the longer but easier road of the Colle del Teodulo, Colle Superiore Delle Cime Bianche, and Colle

The Mont Fallère is located in the Alps Grand Combin in Valle d'Aosta. The mountain, as well as with the name of Mont-Fallère with which it is designated by the official cartography of the Valle d'Aosta Region, also appears without the hyphen or as Monte Fallere [2] or Monte Fallère. From the summit, you have a panoramic view of Mont Blanc, the Grand Combin, the Grivola, and many other mountains of the Graian Alps and the Pennine Alps.

The step of Salati is a mountain pass that constitutes the natural border between the Valsesia and the valley of Lys, respectively, in Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta. The pass opens between the Corno del Camoscio and the Stolemberg. It is reached by two important and modern cableways, a cableway coming from Gressoney-La-Trinité and a funifor from Alagna, included in the extensive Monterosaski ski area, one of the largest in Italy.