Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve

The Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve is a remarkable protected area. Its natural environments range from spruce and larch forests, alpine moors and grasslands dotted with lakes and ponds, to the mineral landscapes of the heights.

The Aiguilles Rouges Nature Reserve was created in 1974. Faced with the boom in tourist development in the Chamonix valley in the 1970s, a number of people (including J. Eyheralde) who were sensitive to environmental issues worked towards its creation. Its name comes from the rock that forms its relief: gneiss, which takes on reddish hues under the effect of iron oxidation.

The natural wealth of the Nature Reserve can be seen in its altitudinal layering: at each level, the natural environments adapt to the sometimes extreme conditions.

From the very first slopes, the spruce and larch forests are home to woodpeckers, owls and saproxylic insects, which feed on the dead wood. A little higher up, the forest becomes less dense, and the rhododendron and bilberry moors become the favorite terrain of the black grouse.

Higher still, the landscape is a mosaic of environments: alpine spikenard meadows, blueberry and juniper heaths, rocks polished by the glaciers of yesteryear, ponds and peat bogs, all intermingle. The Alpine ibex, the rock ptarmigan, dragonflies such as the Cordulie alpestre and the Tarier des prés find here everything they need to live and reproduce.

As you climb towards the summits, the landscape becomes more mineral: moraines, scree, rock faces, lakes and glaciers follow one another. Fauna is scarce, but life survives. Androsaces, small cushion plants perfectly adapted to extreme conditions, dot the walls with touches of color.

Regulations :
- Dogs forbidden
- Garbage prohibited
- Fire prohibited
- Flower picking prohibited
- Overflight prohibited
- Camping prohibited, reservation required for bivouacs
- Swimming prohibited in Lac Blancs and Lac Chéserys
- All sound equipment prohibited
- Inscriptions on rocks, markings and signs prohibited
- All advertising referring to the nature reserve is prohibited
- Work prohibited, including the installation of new climbing routes
- Hunting prohibited
- Gatherings and events subject to authorization