Thabor

The Thabor massif stands at the crossroads between Savoie and Hautes-Alpes and between France and Italy. Follow the GR5 long-distance hiking trail up to the Vallée Etroite pass, to cross to the Névache valley and continue your Great Alpine Crossing on the southern side.

Mount Thabor and the Magi

Yes, this is France and not Galilee! Mount Thabor stands at the foot of Gaspard, Melchior and Balthazar, reaching a height of 3,178 metres where a chapel stands at the top.

At the crossroads between Maurienne, Vallée Etroite (“narrow valley”) and Névache, Mount Thabor nevertheless stands alone in a “high mountain” valley made more welcoming by the Sainte-Marguerite lakes.

Vallée Etroite, a French and Italian valley

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the rectification of the Franco-Italian border was confirmed by the peace treaty of 10th February 1947. As further north on the Mont-Cenis plateau, and further south at the Chaberton summit, the border was pushed from the Col de l’Echelle to the Rois Mages chain, to include the upper part of the Vallée Etroite.

In this magical place that our Italian neighbours call “Valle Stretta” you can cross from France into Italy without even realizing it!

Around Thabor

Natural site of the Mont Thabor

The natural site of Mont-Thabor lays between 1750 m and 3178m altitude over 4 806 hectares and overing several towns of Maurienne. Meadowas, prairies, rocky habitat are...

Take the road from Modane up through Valfréjus (6 km) then as you leave the village, head for Le Lavoir. Leave your vehicle on the car park below the Lavoir fort.
The road is passable but remains an unpaved forest track.

You can also take the bus from Modane to Valfréjus and then continue on foot along the road to Le Lavoir for a very pleasant forest walk.