Le plus beau voyage c’est celui qu’on n’a pas encore fait – Loick Peyron
The most beautiful trip is the one you havent taken yet – Loick Peyron
What would you get when you travel through vast meadows, verdant pastures dotted with grazing cows, horses, sheep, et al and jewel-like sparkling blue & small mountain lakes? The answer undoubted would be ‘an opalescent’ view pleasing the eyes and soaking the soul in the bounty of nature. Welcome onboard, much celebrated, Tram du Mont Blanc (TMB) to savour this captivating experience!
Tram du Mont Blanc
Built between 1906 to 19014, Tram du Mont Blanc departs from Le Fayet (584m) winding and scaling up, it takes you to Bellevue (1794m) in winter and to Nid d’Aigle (2380m) in summer. Reaching over 2000m above sea level, it is the highest rack railway tram in France.
In between it has five (Le Fayet – Village Motivon – Col de Voza – Bellevue plateau – Mon Lachat – Nid d’Aigle) stops for you to hop on and off to indulge in the luxuries of open skies and wandering clouds, sweeping Alpine greenery, and breathtaking scenes of Mont Blanc massif, at your own pace! It’s a paradise for the hikers, mountain bike riders and nature enthusiasts.
From the humble sleepy town to the Aiguille du Bionnassy foothills, the tram traverses through the forest, and offers glimpses of Bionnassy glacier and Aiguille du Gouter peak, chugs through the mountain ridge, and sides by the Contamines valley at a very comfortable speed covering a total distance of 12.4 km.
The cogwheels allow it to climb steep slopes that are over 24degrees with ease. Three passenger wagons of the tram are pulled all the way by 3 engines, namely Anne, Marie, and Jeanne which are named after the three daughters of the founding chief of the tram company. From steam-operated to electric fed in 1956, the engines also have transformed over the period of time while still flaunting their original blue, red and green colours.
Tram du Mont Blanc has its share of glamour and limelight too! It was featured in the 2004 French film, Malabar Princess.
Bellevue
When I hopped off the TMB at Bellevue, a catchphrase kissed my thoughts. “Name itself is guarantee”! The name ‘Bellevue’ is the combination of the two French words, Belle and Vue which mean ‘pretty sight’.
It is a plateau, a unique landscape overlooking Mont Blanc. It offers scenic and easy walks through the valley and Alpine meadows, trails to hamlets of Les Houches, and a hike to the Bionnassy glacier.
Nid d’Aigle
Like a nest, Nid d’Aigle (Eagle’s Nest) snuggles at the foothills of the Aiguille de Gouter mountain peak. where mountaineers set out for their climb of Mont Blanc. Perched at 2370m it offers the glimpses of Aiguille de Bionnassay (4052m), Aiguille de Tricot (3665m), Piton des Italiens (4002m), Pointe Inferieure de Tricot (2830m) peaks.
The expansive tongue of the Bionnassy glacier sparkles with its brilliance catching the attention of the spellbound visitor. Standing above the cloud cover of the valley, the Nid d’Aigle hands you an engrossing view of the ever fresh and verdurous valley dotted with alpine hamlets.
Chamonix is not just this. There are plenty of other attractions like Glacier des Bosson, Merlet Immersion Park, Le Brevent, Grands Montets, Col de Balme, numerous world-renowned ski resorts and ski slopes, museums, and Micheline star gourmet restaurants, etc to name a few. A lifetime seems not enough to explore Chamonix Mont Blanc!
Let’s bid a bye to incredible, jaw-dropping, kaleidoscopic, legendary, magnificent, notable and opalescent Chamonix Mont Blanc with a promise to trace the steps back again…someday one day!
Au revoir!
This post is part of the #BlogchatterA2Z challenge2022
Click here for posts so far in the “Exploring l’Hexagone” series
17 Comments
Yamini Ali MacLean · April 18, 2022 at 12:00 am
Hari OM
A picture postcard of a place, no doubt about it!!! YAM xx
O=Orb
Aesha Shah · April 18, 2022 at 5:36 am
Chamonix Mont Blanc is now on top of my travel list. The pictures want me to shun the city life of India and move to France, really. Mind would be at such peace and one would feel so content if one resides here. What is the density of population here?
Brinda · April 18, 2022 at 4:40 pm
Wow this is a lovely place! I would love to go on the clog-Wheel train! Waiting for the day I can visit…
Priyanka (aka 'Pri') · April 18, 2022 at 8:22 am
Chamonix Mont Blanc is so picturesque…straight out of a fairytale. And Bellavue, true to its name, is indeed a pretty sight.
seethlakshmi · April 18, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Wow. Such picturesque place. Thank you for taking us there through your words 🙂
Swarnali Nath · April 18, 2022 at 5:14 pm
Omg this post has so many amazing places!! I absorbed the beauty of these places and revisited there again and again. So so so beautiful places Anagha! Thanks for sharing the pictures.
Sonia Dogra · April 18, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Anagha every post of yours makes me fall in love with the natural beauty of France. How wonderful to name the engines after the daughters of the founding father. Also, when in school we had a hall that was called Bellevue. I’m wondering if it had some French connection although our nuns were Irish.
Pradeep · April 18, 2022 at 8:52 pm
The landscape is simply out of the world …!
O = Oxford comma
Rashi Roy · April 19, 2022 at 1:55 am
Such beautiful pictures and enjoyed reading your post. France no wonder is a beauty.
A Rustic Mind · April 26, 2022 at 9:25 pm
You had me hooked with that first photo of the charming fountain and then I was sold at the toy train. Amazing! Thanks for sharing these with us, Anagha
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