Demoiselles Coiffées

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Nearby:  | Chorges | Embrun | Gap | Jarjayes | Serre-Ponçon Lake |

Below: | Hiking |

The Demoiselles Coiffées (approximately: "young ladies with fancy hair or nice hat") is a striking set of narrowly-tapered rock columns standing along the top of a crumbly rock ridge. Each column is topped with a large rock balanced neatly on the tip, helping to protect the "demoiselle" from complete erosion.

These rock formations are extremely rare in Europe, and unique in France.

The Demoiselles Coiffées de Pontis are beside the D954 road along the eastern side of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon, 8 km south of Savines-le-Lac. There's a large parking area, and a rough trail that climbs up beside the ridge.

Another set of "Demoiselles Coiffées" is located in the hills about 10 km west, on the other side of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. At the village of Remollon on the D900, 6 km west of where the road crosses the Durance at the lower dam, the tiny D53 winds up into the hills to Mt. Colombis. This set of "Demoiselles Coiffées" is 6 km up the road. A hiking trail from the village of Théus (part way up the D53) takes a straighter line to the rock formations than the switch-back road.

There's even another "Demoiselles Coiffées" 2 km east of Bedoin (map C2) in the Vaucluse.

Hiking

Maps:

IGN (1/25,000) #3438 ET "Embrun, Les Orres, Lac de Serre-Ponçon"

Didier Richard (1/50,000) #7 "Hautes Alpes"

Refer to the Lac de Serre-Ponçon for hiking information.