Family walk between Luitel and Prémol

This is a very easy, family walk 45 minutes from Grenoble, located in an outstanding natural environment between the Lac Luitel Natural Reserve and Prémol.
Starting point: Luitel Natural Reserve car park

Start : Parking Réserve Naturelle du Luitel
Yellow signs
Access by car is via route départementale 111 towards Chamrousse 1750. Park at the Luitel Nature Reserve parking lot. This reserve was created in 1961 to protect the peat bogs and original flora around the lake.

Start your tour of the Réserve Naturelle du Luitel by following the wooden paths and caillebottis laid out in the peat bog. A peat bog of this type was formed over 12,000 years ago when the glaciers retreated.
The flora and fauna are highly specific, having adapted to living in a highly acidic and humid environment. The reserve is home to 255 plant species, including marsh lycopod, marsh scheuchzeria and cranberry. You'll also find sphagnum mosses, which absorb water and form floating rafts, as well as a tiny carnivorous plant: the drosera.
After this discovery, descend to the Chartreuse de Prémol.
Walk along the shore of Lac Luitel to the outlet, then take the path to the Chartreuse de Prémol.

Arriving at the Chartreuse, you'll see the ruins of the former Chartreuse de Prémol. Situated at an altitude of 1095 meters, this monastery was founded in 1234. The site fulfilled all the conditions necessary for a religious lifestyle: solitude, silence, environment. The nuns were cloistered and their hermitage cut off from the world. They devoted most of their time to prayer and meditation. Apart from services and prayers, they spun spinning wheels, did needlework or copied illuminated manuscripts. One of their specialties was pharmacy and the preparation of elixirs.
The monastery fell victim to fires and the passage of the Huguenots, then the revolutionaries, and was abandoned. All that remains of the monastery are a few walls, the forest house and the ruins of the porter's house.
In summer, when the weather is very hot, this cool spot is much appreciated. An ideal spot for a family picnic. Go straight on towards Fontaine du Mulet. At the end of the road, turn right towards Fontaine du Mulet. Then turn left onto the forest track leading up towards the mill, continue straight on to the outlet, turn right towards Lac Luitel, at the lake turn left onto the wide track which takes you back to the starting point.
Finally, return to the Col du Luitel via the track that starts at the maison forestière, and discover the other side of the lake.