Climbing up from the parking lot along the paved road, just past the ski lift track, you will immediately encounter a marker post on the right with directions for Trail 3, which climbs up along a short path bordered by stone walls.
The stake marking the entrance to Trail 3
The little wall ends almost immediately, and the path seems to disappear: take the dirt road, which climbs up in turns. You will find a priva left turn that leads to a building, but you must continue to the right (there is a “3 right” sign).
The clear directions to Trail 3
There is a second turn to the left that heads toward a second building, and this time we have to go there: just before we get to the building, to the right of the dirt road, we see a wide path going up into the woods (there is a yellow “3” marker on a boulder in the middle of the path).
The trail starts to the right of the dirt road
From here the real trail begins, which continues for a long stretch of twists and turns through the forest of very tall trees. You walk on a soft and very wide carpet that is perfectly maintained: a real pleasure to proceed
The beautiful initial section of the trail
At about 1825m we cross a trail coming from the left: a marker post tells us that we are crossing the 1W Walserweg, which from this point continues for a stretch in common with our 3.
The 3/1W crossroads
From here, proceed to the right for a stretch that is horizontal at first and descends for a very short distance: the huts of the Lower Alpe Ranzola (1999m) are almost immediately glimpsed on the right above, which the trail never touches, however.
The trail descends for a short distance, the Lower Ranzola huts appear at the top
Gradually move out of the trees, cross two nearly dry streams, at 1864m on guada a small, well-bodied stream and cut across the opposite slope.
The stream that you wade through before moving to the other side
At the first left turn, at about 1897m, a second junction with trail 1W is crossed, which abandons 3 and heads right, toward Ranzola Inferiore.
The junction with the 1W trail going to the right
We continue straight for a stretch more, skirting a small stone wall: when the small stone wall ends, we cut right and go up the opposite pier again. We continue in this way, winding through increasingly sparse forest and two more shoulders, until at about 1997m the trail finally comes out of the trees.
Toward Upper Ranzola
Once over the next bump, the very close huts ofAlpe Ranzola Superiore (2106m), and the small chapel on Colle Ranzola behind them, will immediately appear.
The cabins of upper Ranzola, behind them the pass
Pass to the left of the huts and climb the very easy grassy slope above (vague tracks, but not needed). This leads to the Colle Ranzola (2171m).
The chapel at the Colle Ranzola
It is not only the plaque commemorating Lev Tolstoy’s passage in 1857 that is of historical interest: the dry-stone wall there is in fact what remains of a fortification erected in 1800 by Austrian and Russian soldiers to face the advance of Napoleon Bonaparte, coming over the Great St. Bernard Pass. Fun fact: This very famous painting by Jacques-Louis David depicts Napoleon at the very passage of the Great St. Bernard. Therefore, it can be said that in this image he was preparing to pass through Gressoney… even though, in reality, he never did (his loss!). This Rai VdA documentary delves into Napoleon’s passage through the Aosta Valley.
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Passage
Continuation to Punta della Regina
An almost obligatory continuation is to Punta della Regina (2387m): this is reached by following the steep but short trail 7A.
From the Hill, looking toward Punta della Regina
From the summit, you can descend back to Colle Ranzola via the same 7A trail, or you can descend from the other side to the Gombetta Lake basin via the 3A trail. After slightly passing Lake Gombetta, the trail splits into two: one branch goes left, the other right. Two alternative routes are therefore possible.
- The simple alternative involves returning to Ranzola Col by taking the left direction, then walking a very short section of trail 3B that goes counterclockwise around the base of Punta Della Regina. Once you reach Colle Ranzola, you return to the valley via the same trail 3 made uphill. In this way you will have made a “loop” by going up to Punta della Regina and then returning to Ranzola Hill by going around it.
- The longer alternative, on the other hand, takes the right direction, taking trail 3B up to the “Belvedere” and then down to the arrival of the Weismatten chairlift and the Carlo Mollino hut. When you get to the chairlift, you can return to the valley by following trail 2, which will bowl you down a few meters above the start of trail 3 made on the outward journey, closing a nice loop trail.
The ring around Punta Regina
