Val Varaita: The Last Occitan Valley With Its Black-Stone Houses

Running parallel to the Val Maira and equally forgotten, the Val Varaita climbs toward France through a landscape of dark gneiss and grey granite houses that immediately distinguish it from the limestone valleys of the Dolomites or the white plaster of the Ligurian valleys. The villages of Casteldelfino, Pontechianale and Chianale — the highest settlement in the Cuneo province at 1,800 metres — are brown-stone Alpine architectures that blend into the rock faces they lean against.

Chianale and the Colle dell'Agnello

Chianale, a hamlet of a few dozen permanent residents, is the starting point for the Colle dell'Agnello — 2,744 metres — which connects the Val Varaita to the French Queyras. The pass is among the highest driveable Alpine crossings in Italy, open to cars from June to October; at the top the view embraces the Monviso to the east and the Queyras massif to the west. Cyclists know it as one of the great passes of the alternative Tour de France.

Lago di Pontechianale

The Lago di Pontechianale, a dam reservoir at 1,587 metres built in 1942, submerged the valley floor but created an emerald-coloured mirror of water framed by larches that turn gold in autumn. The lake waters are transparent and the colour shifts through the hours: emerald green in the morning, cobalt blue in the afternoon. A flat trail runs along the eastern shore for 4 kilometres.

When to Go and What to Eat

The hiking season runs from June to September; in winter the Val Varaita is used by skiers but without the infrastructure of the major valleys. In Casteldelfino the local trattorias serve ravioles — Occitan potato-and-toma gnocchi — and aged Val Varaita toma, one of the least-known Piedmontese alpine-pasture cheeses. The valley is reached by car from Cuneo in about 90 minutes.