Best trails in Écrins National Park, France

The Ecrins National Park was established in 1963. The park is located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions, in the French Alps, between the Mercantour national park and the national park Vanoise. The Ecrins National Park is made up of two areas called the “heart of the park” (91,800 ha) and the “adherence area” (178,400 ha). While the heart of the park is strictly protected by law, the area of compliance with the more flexible regulations benefits from economic, social and cultural investments which aim to preserve the heart of the park by curbing the rural exodus while promoting tourism in the region. It is a high mountain national park. The heart of the national park has an altitude ranging from 1,800 meters to 4,102 meters (La Barre des Écrins). Its landscapes consist of high mountains on which many glaciers remain, but also penetrated by valleys opening onto wide passes. The rich fauna of the park includes: ibex, chamoix, marmots, raptors including the golden eagle, many invertebrates and also other birds, invertebrates and rodents. Regarding the flora, the Ecrins National Park has about 2,000 plant species.