There are places that don’t need giant signs or advertising campaigns to enchant. Sometimes, it is precisely the most discreet places that hold the most beautiful surprises. Along the lush valleys and deep forests of Haute-Savoie, an easy hike leads to a spectacular waterfall, still little known to the general public… and yet so impressive that you might think it’s a movie set.
What struck me when I arrived for the first time was this feeling of being alone in the world. No crowd, no noise. Just nature, raw, alive, authentic.
A simple walk for a grand reward
The access is almost disarmingly easy. In less than two hours, the round trip is completed. The path, perfectly maintained, first crosses a wooded area, then runs alongside a stream with increasing flow. Every bend in the trail holds a surprise: an old moss-covered bridge, a remote chalet, a sunlit clearing. Everything seems frozen in time.
But the most astonishing thing is the way the waterfall reveals itself. At first, you only hear a slight rumble, like a breath. Then, suddenly, you spot it through the foliage. It hides, plays with the visitor, before emerging around a bend, in full light.
The discreet charm of Savoyard hamlets
Before reaching it, the path crosses a small hamlet that looks like a postcard. Wooden chalets darkened by the seasons, a few overflowing flower boxes, and the smell of damp wood. As a photography enthusiast, I spent a good while here, capturing these simple but genuine moments of mountain life.
You feel a kind of peace in this place, as if the inhabitants had managed to preserve something that time had forgotten elsewhere.
My personal experience: a suspended moment
I came here one June morning, after sleeping in a family lodge nearby. It had rained the day before, and the undergrowth exuded a smell of earth and resin. When I reached the waterfall, the sun had just started to break through the clouds, casting golden flashes on the flowing water. I put down my bag, took off my shoes, and sat there, simply listening. There was nothing else to do. Nothing else to say.
That moment stayed etched in my memory. It sums up for me what Haute-Savoie can offer to those who know how to stray off the beaten path: beauty, silence, emotion.
But where is this marvel hiding?
If you are curious to discover this spectacular waterfall, know that it is located not far from the lake of Montriond, on a trail leading to a place whose name evokes the raw power of the elements… It is the cascade d’Ardent, a discreet jewel nestled in the wild setting of Chablais. Easy to access, yet overwhelming in majesty, it deserves every step of the walk that leads to it.
Practical information
- Starting point: parking located at the end of lake Montriond, towards the hamlet of Albertans.
- Distance: about 3.5 km round trip.
- Duration: 1h30 to 2h depending on your pace and the pause time at the waterfall.
- Elevation gain: about 150 meters, very gradual.
- Difficulty: easy – route suitable for families with children, accessible in sneakers.
- Ideal period: from May to October. In spring, the flow is more spectacular thanks to the snowmelt.
- Recommended equipment: hiking shoes or sneakers, water bottle, camera, and possibly a windbreaker.
