About the house "De Ezel"  - l'Ane in Terre Rouge, Hautes Alpes, France

The house (farm or chalet) De Ezel (the Donkey) ( l'Ane in French) in the village Terre Rouge, is located near Briancon in the Hautes-Alpes, France. A beautiful environment in all seasons. In summer a Mediterranean climate but in the evening and at night it cools down again, so even in summer it is necessary to bring something warm. In winter it is a real mountain climate and can get far below zero, but during the day often wonderful sunshine.

The house the Donkey is at least 300 years old, and has been restored by Felicia Otter from 1965 and from about 1992 by Rene Otter significantly further renovated. Felicia has organized many things in Terre Rouge since 1965: scout camps, school camps, campers and guests in various apartments. The first 20-25 years without electricity, gas or hot water. Later a little more modern, but it remained simple, quiet, no disco, just basic chapering like the Boy Scouts used to do. "Real nature lovers, anthroposophical, vegetarian, natural medicine, and with a heart for the earth":... people with that kind of attitude to life have always felt very comfortable in Terre Rouge.

Now in 2020, much of the renovation is complete, and lodging in a vacation home, or camping, can be done again on a limited basis. Preference will be given to people who wish to rent the entire vacation home. There are only a few camping places available, so that everyone can stand completely secluded/alone, and the tents are not too conspicuous for the surroundings either. It is an Aire Naturelle, not a commercial campsite.

Briancon is the highest situated town in Europe. And although the city is only 6 km away, Terre Rouge is a small and quiet village. With only 5 permanently inhabited houses and a Gite. Terre Rouge is located on the road to the Col d'Izoard, well known from the Tour de France. In the Gite is on appointment delicious organic food or else in the old town of Briancon enough nice restaurants.

Hiking
From the village itself there are several nice short and long mountain hikes to make. And from a 4 km away village Cervieres are more small to large trips to make, or one can walk over the Col to Italy. In a radius of 10-20 km from several other valleys you can make many hikes. There are also trips to various mountain lakes possible.  

Other Activities
The local tourist office will be able to provide information on mountain biking, canoeing, hang gliding and paragliding, and hiking. Even if the weather is fine, always bring something warm and a raincoat when hiking. In the summer the temperature can be Mediterranean during the day, but it cools down at night.  Advice: buy a good hiking staff map of the area.

Look on the map where Terre Rouge is located

Maps & walking routes online

Download the visorando app on the smartphone (search Cervieres - Hautes Alpes, note there is also another Cervieres)

Also of interest is Geoportail from the French government, also available in the App Store (search for 05100 Cervieres on the map).