From Covarey, follow signs 5a,5b,5c, gently up towards Alpe La Serva. This is an unusual route. The road is made of stone and held in place by strong retaining walls. The dense, mountain pine forest is of interest because of its unique size, the largest in Aosta Valley. This is due to the unusual characteristics of the soil. It is lacking in nutrients, impeding the growth of Norway Spruce. The trail is still numbered 5a, 5b, 5c and, to the right of the lake, it climbs to the bridge over the Chalamy stream and goes on to Lake Bianco. The trail is virtually flat as it leads to the Barbustel hut (2208m). From the hut there are views of Lakes Vallette, Blanc, Noir and Cornu. Moving on, the signs now read 5,10 and 9c as the trail climbs to the Lago Bianco pass (2307m), the southern gateway to the Mont Avic nature reserve. The landscape here is barren, typical of scree slopes and rock fall-prone areas. The trail now heads down to Dondena, past Lake Vernouille, the Raty de Fort hut and lake Raty. Heading left of the lake, the trail leads up a slope to Lake Giassit, then on to the Gran Giaset hut and then to Dondena, one of the most important villages in the Champocher valley. It is now only a 15 minute walk along part of the Alta Via trail no. 2 to the Dondena hut.
(Regione Valle d’Aosta)

The village of Champdepraz is defined by the presence of the Mont Avic nature reserve, set up in 1989 with the aim of preserving the natural resources in the upper valley of the Chalamy stream. The landscape here is fascinating, barely affected by man’s presence: the lie of the land has meant that traditional farming practices have been kept to a minimum and has hindered the development of mass tourism. The protected area contains unusual rock formations, ponds of standing water, marshes and peat bogs and, near La Serva Lake, the bog pine forest is a point of interest, unique in Aosta valley because of its size, categorized as "seed forest". In 2003, the Park was awarded the UNI EN ISO 14001 international standard certificate for the environment and was the first protected area in Italy and Europe to obtain EMAS registration. Another unusual feature of this area is the fact that iron, magnetite and chalcopyrite were mined in this area. The broad, paved path the walker follows was in fact a trade route used to transport iron ore down into the valley. At La Serva the vestiges of a blast furnace that dates from 1694 can still be admired. It is located right next to the lake. Mining began in about 1690 thanks to Bernardo and Aurelio Mutta who were from Bergamo, and stopped for good in 1893. Before reaching the Dondena hut in Champorcher the walker must pass through the hamlet of Dondena, which today can also be reached by car. Since the 17th century these pastures have been considered extremely desirable and a lengthy dispute broke out to establish ownership of them. The dispute, between the consor (farmers) of Champocher valley and Baron François de Valleise lasted until 1677 when the Cour de Connaissance (Court) forced the consor to recognise the Baron’s feudal rights over the pasture land. Champocher valley’s economy is based on cattle farming. There are many trees, chestnuts in the lower part of the valley, Norway Spruce, Silver Fir, Larch and Swiss Stone Pine in the upper part. The last few years have seen the development of a small but noteworthy ski resort. Hemp is also grown in this region and hand-woven on looms to make clothes, tablecloths and curtains amongst other things (Coop. Lo Dzeut +39 0125 37327). Local celebrations: an arts and crafts fair on the last Sunday in July; the wholemeal bread festival in Meiller village which lasts the first ten days in August; the procession to Misérin lake on the 5th August.
(Regione Valle d’Aosta)