Coda Refuge

The itinerary follows the entire route of the Tor des Géants, the famous trail that traverses the Aosta Valley in seven days.
Just before Col Portola, in a small basin called Plan des Sorcières (the Witches’ Plain), you can admire, alongside the trail, a large rock featuring several cup marks that represent the Pleiades.

From the Pont-Saint-Martin motorway exit, turn right toward Turin. At the second roundabout, turn left toward Gressoney.
After a few hundred meters, turn right onto the Lys Valley road and follow it all the way to Lillianes.
Just before the narrow section of the village, take the ascending road on the right. At the first junction, continue left. Climb the steep mountainside until you reach a junction, then follow the signs for Étoile du Berger.
Pass several hairpin turns, then continue right until you reach the junction for Étoile du Berger. Proceed a few hundred meters further until you find a small open area, where on the left, the Alta Via trail begins.

Follow the mulattiera that leads to Alpe Sassa, where you turn right. Continue through pastures and stretches of forest, cross a rural road, and reach another rural road just before the Pra de Bosc huts.
Proceed a short distance until the end of the road, where there is a small car park.
Now cross a wide pasture, where near the end you will find Alpe Vallessa. Navigate right through scattered larches to reach the small basin of Plan des Sorcières, where on the left of the trail stands a large cup-marked boulder.
Continue, and shortly after, reach Col Portola, from where you can see Rifugio Coda on the ridge ahead. Cross right among the last larches and boulders, descend slightly to meet the trail from Fontainemore, and take a final steep ramp to Col Carisé, with panoramic views over the Piedmont plain.
From this point, follow the wide, scenic ridge to the left until reaching Coda Refuge.
After a well-deserved break—and perhaps a plate of delicious polenta at the refuge—return along the same route.