Aiguille Percée
Trail description
The walk starts by the Palafour chairlift at Tignes le Lac, climbs beneath the chairlift and then heads north on the paths of the Aiguille Percée loop to the Aiguille Percée, a natural rock arch on the ridge above the resort. The Tignes tourist office rates the hike as difficult because of its stony mountain terrain; the last part of the path climbs through scree, and the official topo asks walkers not to climb the needle itself. The topo describes the rock as a mass of Triassic limestone that was crushed during its geological emplacement, which makes it unusually prone to erosion, gives it its odd shapes and means it will eventually disappear. The ridge lies in the Tignes-Champagny nature reserve, created in 1963, where dogs are banned even on a lead, so they may not go to the far side of the arch or to the nearby orientation table. The walk is about 3.5 km one way, with some 615 m of climbing.