Giro dei tre rifugi in Val Pellice - Barbara Barant Jervis

Bikes recharged, we're ready to go! We've found a beautiful B&B near Bobbio, so we don't even have to move the car: we'll start right from there. The valley floor is a bit warm and, unfortunately, foggy, but we're confident that as we climb higher, the air will be cooler and the views will be truly breathtaking. Today is a day full of highlights, heading towards Comba dei Carbonieri! It promises to be a long, paved climb, with steep sections, but fortunately shaded and away from traffic. The background sound of the Ghicciard River (which offers many swimming spots, known as "tumpi") is the kind of sound I love on rides like this. I glimpse the name of a hamlet: Borgata Giraudin, visually abandoned for several years. My thoughts always wander back to times gone by, imagining life in this place by the river. We stop about halfway up the climb at the Rifugio Barbara. It turns out to be an excellent choice: we ate deliciously, and there's even a charging station for our e-bikes! The refuge is nestled between steep walls in a valley filled with streams that flow between the rocks. Spectacular. We set off again, with another 800 meters of elevation gain ahead of us. Now the road becomes a dirt track, and we finally begin to ride the famous military road that leads to Colle Barant. These roads were built to transport weapons, move entire regiments, and traverse mountains, and today serve as a gateway for cyclists who love the nature of the Alps, the silence, and the peace, with steps nourished by memories. A plain opens up before us, and we find some signs indicating the presence of bunkers. They're hidden among the rocks: we're so fascinated by them that we take the time to explore a couple. I admit we spent a lot of time here, between the Bruno Peyronel Alpine Botanical Garden, the bunkers, and the plain. We set off again along a beautiful winding road, nestled among flowering rhododendrons and larches. The surface is extremely smooth and soft. The drainage channels are wide and clearly visible from afar, making them safe to navigate. We cross a stream, soaking our feet; the water was at least 30 centimeters deep, making it impossible to cross without getting wet! We arrive at the Willy Jervis Refuge, where we enjoy a delicious coffee. Here, we meet a group of local bikers, who recommend tons of tours in the area! It's a wonderful time sharing trails, ideas, and riding stories. It's getting dark and cooler: it's time to head back down. We set off for the descent along the Conca dei Morti. I recommend stopping often and looking up: the soaring rock walls dominate the view. Shortly after Villanova Pellice, we turn right and follow the Via dei Pastori: a picturesque forest road that runs along the mountainside and features countless abandoned huts. This is, quite possibly, one of the most beautiful forest roads I've ever driven in my life.

However the stretch from Jervis to Barant is beyond my capabilities 😓🥴

Very challenging ride. Carried out in itself counterclockwise (Jervis, Barant, Barbara). The low slope is challenging in the first part (16%), but very nice beautiful wood. The sections on the asphalt, even if steep, are handled well. From Villanova to Jervis it is affordable except for a small section with peaks at 20%. From Jervis to Barant rarely below 10 per cent with many sections at 16. The descent towards Barbara to be tackled with caution

Nice ride, very nice but the climb is not for beginners because it never flattens out to the top.

Beautiful tour through the upper Pellice Valley, past countless old villages, waterfalls and gigantic views. 17 km with 1700 meters altitude, gradient up to 24% on tarred paths, the last kilometers on gravel paths to Rifugio Barant with a view over the Po Valley and the Monviso.

Challenging tour, climb to Barbara entirely asphalted, 10km x 1000D+, with sections between 15% and 20%. Found good ground for the remaining climb to Barant. To date, a few strips of snow from the Marmotte Plane to the Botanical Garden but they can easily be overcome/avoided

Wonderful tour starting from hamlet. Perlà and in 1 hour and 20 minutes on asphalt you arrive at the Barbara refuge at an altitude of 1750 m. Since it was 12.20pm I had lunch here and continued at 2pm on the beautiful uphill dirt road with a constant gradient until the last 6 bends. Uahuu view towards the valley with sea of clouds. I saw it well because the last 3 came back with a flat battery, I pushed it uphill, 50-60 steps and a 2 minute break. Almost at Colle Barant you can also see Monviso. Here on the crest is the stone refuge of the same name. The initial part of the descent is well bowled and then becomes a grassy layer down to the bottom of the valley. Every now and then a depression for small streams and one since 2023 has made the route no longer practicable with off-road vehicles. At the bottom of the valley on the opposite side is the Jervis refuge with many other huts. The descent is a slightly dusty dirt road, towards the bottom, the beautiful Pis waterfall, the upper part and after a long road you arrive in Villanova. From here on asphalt in 20 minutes you return to Perlà by car.

Always a beautiful ride with wonderful views. today we took a variant going down from the Barbara refuge, beautiful, I recommend it, all in the woods, easy dirt road.