Hiking the paths of the Oisans gives you time to appreciate the beauty of the mountains and valleys, the ever-changing scenery. The paths cover a variety of terrain and you’ll find many yellow hiking signposts at the sides of the roads or leading you through villages.

This is my favourite way to explore the area and there are lots of wonderful walks on the edge of Les 2 Alpes and Alpe d’Huez. However, it’s once you get off the beaten track and up to somewhere like the Plateau d’Emparis that you really experience the wild beauty of the area.

For those interested in a challenging hike, the GR 54: Tour de l’Oisans is a 176km hiking trail that takes walkers over nearly 13,000m of altitude difference and takes up to 14 days. Not for the faint of heart and something I’m aiming to do in summer 2011… but maybe not all in one go!

For more information on hiking in the area, click here.