Fort de Lenlon (Tortenbunker)
Description
The route starts in the historic town of Briancon. From here, the Route d'Italie winds its way through the picturesque valley floor to the village of Val-des-Prés before you reach the actual uphill section. On a historic road from the last century, you wind your way steadily up to the Fort de Lenlon (2400 meters above sea level). The uphill section of this tour is already a real treat, but it should be noted that the detour for the last 150 meters of altitude is a hard work, but is rewarded with a breathtaking view and a true place of power. At the fortress, a breathtaking panorama opens up that leaves nothing to be desired.
The descent initially follows small trail cuttings and the historic access road down to the panoramic crossing to the Col de Granon (2413 meters above sea level). This crossing is particularly impressive in autumn, as the deciduous forests change color and show their most beautiful side, and the clear view and dry air create a gigantic play of colors. From the saddle, the downhill fun really begins. The slope traverse is at a difficulty level of S1 to S2 and is hard to beat in terms of beauty. You surf down the entire trail with the flair of the Western Alps and finally reach the Croix de Toulouse viewpoint (2000 meters above sea level). Here you have a tremendous view of the town of Briançon and the surrounding mountains. The mightiness of the mountain ranges and the rock formations here are hard to beat. You then wind your way along an equally historic path with a difficulty of S2 to S3 via Fort des Salettes and back to the starting point. In total, you have completed over ten kilometers of singletrail descent, have a huge mountain world with a historical background stored in your mind and can now enjoy a French delicacy in the traditional old town of Briançon.
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Details of the tour
40 km
1410 m
1410 m
1270 above sea level
2479 above sea level
1 day
Briançon
Briançon
2215
well suited
More information
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User comments (4)
About the author: Martin Depauli
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
I found the uphill really annoying, as the surface is quite rough in places, the entire ascent is long and the landscape is very monotonous, as it is always in the forest. The whole thing stretches uphill like chewing gum on a biobike. The downhill from the Col de Granon is initially quite flowy, then again 100 percent on loose gravel in the forest. The last section from the fantastic Croix de Toulouse vantage point with a view of Briançon was my technical highlight, as there were great hairpin bends to negotiate. Incidentally, we skipped the detour to the cake bunker on the uphill. Overall, the tour was quite strenuous and somewhat disappointing for me in terms of the landscape and technical aspects!
Dominik Groß
We rode the tour on July 14, 2025. Uphill without an e-bike takes some energy as it is very rocky in places with gradients of over 10%. But doable. The descent is very flowy on S2. The only thing you need to be comfortable with is the exposure. From the Croix de Toulouse onwards, we came across a lot of hikers. It was a national holiday. The hairpin bends at the end are easy to ride with the right technique, but sometimes very exposed. There are fountains and a hut at the parking lot.
Beautiful tour as always with great views. The trip to the bunker is not technically demanding. We would give the tour a difficulty rating of 2, apart from the hairpin bend spectacle at the very end which can theoretically be omitted (as in the Col de Granon tour).
In high summer there is definitely a lot going on here, in autumn it is just so colorful!
Non plus ultra e-bike tour! Pleasant climb to Forrt in an impressive landscape.... and that's exactly how it continues to Pass Granon! The descent is a first-class experience!
We agree exactly with the tour description!
Attention; at the fort there are flocks of sheep with guard dogs! Advice from the shepherdess; don't ride into the herd, get off your bike and push, the dogs will just bark, but don't do anything, they're not angry😬