To reach the tiny hamlet and mountaineering centre of LA BÉRARDE, right in the midst of the park's mightiest peaks at the end of the Vénéon valley, you leave the road from Grenoble some 6km after Le Bourg-d'Oisans, and follow the narrow D530 for 38km up to the village. There you'll find a CAF refuge (tel 04.76.79.53.83; closed Oct–March), a mountain rescue base and the small Hôtel Tairraz (tel 04.76.79.53.46; €40–55; closed Oct–March; restaurant from €14), which has adequate double rooms as well as dormitories. There are plenty of accessible valley walks without the need to risk your neck, including the approach to the back of the magnificent, near-4000-metre bulk of La Meije, with its dazzling glacier, the Glacier Carré.Alternate spellings:: France, La Bérarde, La Bérarde, La Berarde
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