Chamois, a stress free village

If the car, the traffic and the chaos of your daily life torment you and you really need to take a break Chamois is a place that you will love you, certainly a place to spend holidays without stress and in contact with nature. Chamois is a peaceful place at an altitude of 1815 metres, in the middle of the Cervino Valley, on the left bank of the Marmore river. Chamois is the highest town in Valle d’Aosta and one of the highest in Italy

The only solution possible today is to drive your own car up to Buisson, park for free in a parking lot at the lifts and take the cable car. Once you get to the village, you seem to be back in time. The square with the church, the fountain, a single store that sells everything from souvenirs to bread and to clothing. The presence of the cablecar has conditioned the town planning choices made here, allowing the little stone streets to continue to wind their way amid the renovated homes and preserving the allure of the location unchanged. The pedestrian streets unfold in all directions, in fact Chamois consists of small towns but is an independent municipality, a small town with few residents living all year and very brave. The ban on using the car also applies to them and the only vehicles that are seen circulating are the tractors used in the summer for agricultural work. Chamois, thanks to the important choice made to preserve nature and the rural environment is one of the Alpine pearls, a transnational project that brings together alpine resorts particularly involved in the development of environmentally friendly transport and forms of sustainable tourism. Since those times, various types of modernization work have been carried out to make the cable car both safe and comfortable. A trip by cable car is always a thrilling experience, taking visitors over the Valtournenche up to 250 above the ground, and frequently offering the possibility to admire from above the chamois grazing placidly along the grassy ridges and the steep mule track that runs from Buisson to Chamois. The cable car from Buisson to Chamois is open every day of the year from 7.00 a.m. to 10.30 p.m., and runs every 30 minutes, or every 15 at very busy times. During the summer, opening hours are extended on Saturdays and Sundays, during the August holiday period, and during particular events. Extra services are also guaranteed on the evening of 31 December, to allow visitors to attend the fascinating end-of-year torchlight parade. The cable car allows, paying a ridiculous sum, to bring to Chamois even their own bicycle , but since this ecological means is very encouraged you can also rent them at the Bar Funivia right at the entrance of the village especially during the summer. With the bike you can travel many paths in the woods that surround the country.

Chamois is a resort that attracts vacationers both in summer and in winter. In summer it is a healthy place for those who love slow walking and hiking in the mountains. In winter, however, offers a relaxing holiday with zero traffic and is surrounded by numerous ski slopes. You just have to enjoy the peace of Chamois, the green of the meadows, the mountains and the tip of the Matterhorn that, depending on where you are suddenly appears, the casette perfectly restored with the exteriors of ancient woods called rascard , the water present everywhere with its gurgling. Chamois has a few attractions such as the parish church of San Pantaleone whose current form dates back to 1838. Inside there is a carved wooden altar, the statue of Santa Barbara, a Madonna and Child, two statues dedicated to San Pantaleone, the wooden statue of Sant'Antonio and San Lorenzo. In the countryside of Chamois there is also a high port where small tourist planes can land, as well as being available to those who practice paragliding or hang-gliding. From the village of Chamois, it is also possible to go even further up with the chairlifts and to reach splendid spots like Lod lake, where there is a picnic area with 34 tables, 15 stoves, 3 fountains, and 2 toilets and refreshment points for a pleasant break or a departure point for a variety of hikes, or, in winter, to reach the ski runs.

If you are in Chamois on the third Sunday in August you cannot miss “Il gusto di una passeggiata” (the taste of a walk), a festival that takes place every year in this period. It’s a craft and enogastronomy market filled with local folk groups, which is developed along the promenade from Chamois La Magdeleine. And if this is still not enough, Chamois is also connected to "La Magdeleine" (1644 meters), another village to visit in Valle d'Aosta, through a dirt road passable only on foot (easy path of about 4 kilometers) along the "Grande Balconata del Cervino".