Tour du Mont Blanc
Tour du Mont-Blanc · Tour du Mont-Blanc · Giro del Monte Bianco · Трек вокруг Монблана · סובב מון בלאן · ব্ল্যাঙ্ক পর্বত ভ্রমণ
OSM hiking route circling the Mont Blanc massif across France, Italy, and Switzerland (166 km loop) from Les Houches. Vertical figures sampled from Copernicus GLO-30. Days (14) is a placeholder from round(lengthKm/12), not the published 7–11 day window (unverified).
Last verified 2026-09-24 vs Espace Mont-Blanc / Autour du Mont-Blanc
Cite this record
The Hiking World, Tour du Mont Blanc, verified 2026-09-24, https://www.thehikingworld.com/trails/tour-du-mont-blanc
How we verify · last checked 2026-09-24
Byline
- The Hiking World editorial · author
Desk byline for seed records. Named surveying editors replace this once a trail is verified.
Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.
Weather forecast
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Permits and fees
| Permit | Cost | Quota / restriction | Issuer | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No walking permitUnverified — not officially sourced | Not recorded | — | Espace Mont-Blanc / Autour du Mont-Blanc | Issuer page | Unverified |
Hut reality check
Sleeping-bag liner — blankets or duvets provided
CAF/FFCAM huts: blankets or duvets are provided; a sleeping-bag liner (drap de sac / sac à viande) is required for hygiene. Private association-member and non-member huts on the TMB can differ — this desk does not invent a whole-corridor bedding statute.
Half-board (evening meal and breakfast) is the usual CAF hut offering. Overnight booking is logistics, not a walking permit.
Association member huts book through the Autour du Mont Blanc portal; non-member huts are contacted directly. How hut-to-hut booking works.
aube.ffcam.fr · verified 2026-09-10Local ethics / Leave No Trace
Not a whole-circuit camping ban. The local camping/bivouac prohibition on the Swiss Prayon–Branche (Treutsebo) diversion is the official order already listed under Hazards on this record.
autourdumontblanc.com · verified 2026-08-24
Border logistics
The circuit crosses France, Italy, and Switzerland — carry a passport. Official TMB copy names three countries; this is a border fact, not a trail-closure.
autourdumontblanc.com · verified 2026-08-24Altitude weather delta
High 2,534 m minus low 978 m is 1,556 m of relief on this record. A standard tropospheric lapse of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m implies about 10.1 °C cooler at the high point than the valley, all else equal.
That is a model (International Standard Atmosphere environmental lapse), not a forecast and not a trail-closure. Wind, snow, and storms stay in Hazards.
derived:lapse-rate · verified 2026-09-10 · provisionalISA 6.5 °C / 1,000 m · wikipedia.org · 2026-09-10
Line download is the stored OSM geometry, simplified. It is not a surveyed GPS track. GPX · GeoJSON
Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog
Non-technical circuit; high variants harder
- SAC T2–T3 (mapped — no official SAC grade)
- Mountain hiking. Continuous trail, some steep ground, sure-footedness helpful. through Demanding mountain hiking. Exposed sections possible; hands may be needed for balance.
- YDS Class 1
- Class 1. Walking on an established path; low fall risk.
Log in to view the elevation profile
Ingested from OpenStreetMap relation 9678362 (ODbL). The mapped line and 2D length are derived from that geometry. Ascent, descent, and high/low points are sampled from Copernicus GLO-30 (copernicus-dem:glo-30) and remain provisional. Water, permits, and hazards were not taken from OSM tags and must be verified.
OSM 2D length is 166 km (relation 9678362; Tour du Mont Blanc - Itinéraire principal, ref TMB-IP, roundtrip=yes, Wikidata Q24777). The OSM way-bag vertex-closes (start–end 0.00 km) after rotating the loop so the vertex nearest Les Houches is first. This is the main loop, not the named variante relations (Col de Tricot 9678267, Col des Fours 9678296, Tête Bernarda 9678375, Fenêtre d'Arpette 9678380, Grands 9678437, Tour 9678501, Vallorcine 9678726) and not the CCW stage superroute 6436417. lengthKm is verified: 166 km is within ~3% of the official ~170 km (independent published figure; vertex-closes; https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24). Published ~10 days / 10,000 m and Wikipedia ~165 km / 10,600 m (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc, checked 2026-08-24, CC BY-SA) remain cross-checks for those other figures, not this DataPoint. Filed under France (Les Houches start) like Peaks of the Balkans under one country code; the walk is three-country.
DEM high 2,534 m sits in the published high-col band (~2,500–2,660 m; Wikipedia Col des Fours / Fenêtre d'Arpette 2,665 m, same page, checked 2026-08-24). GLO-30 cumulative ascent 10,205 m is in the same order as the official 10,000 m figure (https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24). High point left as Copernicus.
typicalDays 11 is the recognised typical circuit (Cicerone 9–11 days; official site ~10 days) — typical, not an official park duration statute (https://www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-the-tour-du-mont-blanc, checked 2026-08-24; https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24). Published window 7–11 days (Wikipedia 9–14); not a DataPoint. Native grade and mapped SAC range are on Difficulty. Season: mid-June–mid-September as refuges open progressively (same Cicerone page).
Water was not mapped to named WaterSource points (no honest atFraction). Refuges and villages exist along the loop; they were not positioned from an official named list this pass.
Water security
Sourced carry / availability
Refuges and villages sit on the loop; named WaterSource points were not mapped (no honest atFraction). Carry and treat as for any alpine hut walk — litre quantities are not copied from unofficial lists.
autourdumontblanc.com · verified 2026-08-24Surface
Surface is not recorded. This field is filled only from an OSM surface tag, not from the grade.
Permits & fees
No permit required.
Getting there
Sourced legs to the Les Houches (OSM line start) base start station — where this trail record begins. This is not a route planner: durations are approximate and marked provisional until an official transport page confirms them.
Bus · Geneva (GVA) → Chamonix
Geneva Airport is the usual international air gateway to the Chamonix valley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Airport, checked 2026-08-24). Coaches and trains continue to Chamonix; confirm current operators before travel.
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-08-24 · wikidata · official · provisionalBus · Chamonix → Les Houches
Wikipedia: usual TMB start points include Les Houches in the Chamonix valley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc, checked 2026-08-24, CC BY-SA). Local bus from Chamonix.
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-08-24 · wikidata · official · provisional
The loop also has usual starts at Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex, and near Martigny (same Wikipedia page, checked 2026-08-24). This record's OSM line is rotated to Les Houches. Carry a passport — the walk crosses France, Italy, and Switzerland (https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24).
Plan from your location
Type a city, then pick a match. These links open external search tools — they do not fetch fares or timetables.
Getting there car-free
Les Houches (OSM line start) · car-free flag: unknown
Wikipedia: usual start points include Les Houches in the Chamonix valley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_du_Mont_Blanc, checked 2026-08-24, CC BY-SA). Local bus from Chamonix.
Trailheads
- Les Houches (OSM line start) car-free: unknown
Log in to view trailhead transit detail
Hazards
- Alpine weather and sustained daily elevation change: the official site cites about 10,000 m of altitude and ~60 hours of walking over ~10 days (https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24). Wikipedia: mountain weather can change very rapidly; walking experience in mountain country is vital (same Wikipedia page, checked 2026-08-24).
- Steep cols and long climbs; Cicerone treats this as a summer-only route because of high passes, with some near-vertical ladders that have walking alternatives. Early-season snow can linger. The standard loop is non-technical walking, not a glacier route (https://www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-the-tour-du-mont-blanc, checked 2026-08-24).
- Swiss rockfall diversion: the path between Prayon and Branche (Treutsebo) is rerouted from 11 July 2026; the old route is closed. Camping and bivouacking are prohibited in that area (https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24).
Questions
Do I need a permit for Tour du Mont Blanc?
No trail permit is listed as required on this record for Tour du Mont Blanc.
When is the best time to hike Tour du Mont Blanc?
On this record the best season is: Mid-Jun–mid-Sep (refuges progressive).
How difficult is Tour du Mont Blanc?
Tour du Mont Blanc is graded Standard TMB non-technical; high variants harder · SAC T2–T3 (mapped — no official SAC grade) · YDS 1. A sourced hazard on this record: Alpine weather and sustained daily elevation change: the official site cites about 10,000 m of altitude and ~60 hours of walking over ~10 days (https://www.autourdumontblanc.com/en/, checked 2026-08-24). Wikipedia: mountain weather can change very rapidly; walking experience in mountain country is vital (same Wikipedia page, checked 2026-08-24).
How long is Tour du Mont Blanc?
The OSM 2-D length on this record is 166 km (verified). Published figures may differ. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail
How do I get to Tour du Mont Blanc?
The record’s base start is Les Houches (OSM line start). A primary gateway on the record is Geneva Airport (GVA). Trailhead transit notes are not included in this public FAQ.
Related trails
- Walker's Haute Route · Compared with this record
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Featured in
- Permit & season calendar
- How hut-to-hut booking works
- Refuge vs ryokan: how hut culture differs
- Difficulty scales and surface
- Seasonality on the catalog
- Water sources on the catalog
- Car-free and transit access
- Government fees and operator markup
- Iconic bucket-list treks
- Hut-to-hut treks in Europe
- Tour du Mont Blanc vs Walker’s Haute Route
- Car-free long-distance hikes
- Multi-day loop treks
- High-infrastructure treks