Colle del Nivolet from Lago Serru, Gran Paradiso

The Colle del Nivolet sits at 2,612 metres on the southern, Piedmontese side of the Gran Paradiso National Park, reached by one of the most scenic high roads in the Alps that climbs above the village of Ceresole Reale in the Orco valley of the Turin province. From the dam of Lago Serru or the upper car parks near Lago Agnel, a network of well-trodden paths crosses the broad Nivolet plateau, a glacially sculpted basin dotted with turquoise lakes and tarns and grazed by marmots and ibex, to the watershed pass of the Colle del Nivolet that links the Orco valley with the Valsavarenche in Aosta. A typical out-and-back of around 10 kilometres with only 450 metres of gentle ascent makes this one of the easier ways to experience genuine high-alpine scenery, since the road has already done most of the climbing. The plateau's lakes mirror the surrounding glaciated summits, including the Levanna peaks and, further off, the dome of Gran Paradiso itself, and the area featured in classic Italian cinema. The route is well marked and the gradient forgiving, though the altitude can be felt and the weather changes fast. On many summer Sundays the upper Nivolet road is closed to cars under the 'A piedi tra le nuvole' scheme, with shuttle buses instead, leaving the plateau wonderfully quiet for walkers and cyclists. The practical season runs from July, once the snow has cleared and the road has opened, to late September; the high lakes can stay frozen at the edges into early summer. Refuges and a couple of mountain inns near the pass provide refreshments and overnight stays for those continuing onto longer traverses. With its accessible high lakes, abundant wildlife and ease of access by the panoramic road, the Nivolet plateau offers some of the most rewarding easy-to-moderate high-mountain walking in Piedmont.