Practical Information for visiting Cogne

Cogne is at the end of a mountain road and that is the whole character of it.

By road, the valley road climbs about eighteen kilometres from the A5 at Aymavilles; Aosta is roughly forty minutes and Milan about three hours.

Buses run to Aosta several times a day and connect there for the rest of the region and for the long-distance coaches.

There is no railway and no cable car in from outside; the only way in is the road.

The nearest airports are Turin at about two hours and Geneva at around two and a half.

The Mont Blanc and Great St Bernard tunnels put France and Switzerland within about ninety minutes.

Coverage for mobile networks is adequate in the village and absent in the side valleys, which matters when walking.

Cogne is a very safe village and crime is not a consideration.

The hazards are mountain ones. Winter cold here is severe, with night temperatures well below −10°C, and the access road ices and can close.

Ice climbing on the frozen falls is a serious discipline requiring equipment, training and a guide; falling ice injures people at Lillaz most seasons.

Avalanche risk in the side valleys is significant all winter, including on ski-touring and snowshoe routes; read the regional bulletin.

Weather changes fast at altitude and afternoon thunderstorms in summer are violent.

Coverage for mobile networks fails in Valnontey, Valeille and Grauson; tell someone your route.

The river and waterfalls run hard with snowmelt in spring and the rock beside them is slippery year-round.

Emergency services and mountain rescue are reached on 112.

No vaccinations or special precautions are needed; the considerations here are altitude, cold and distance from a hospital.

Altitude at 1,534 metres is mild, but the walks and ski tours go well above 2,500 metres and exertion is harder than at home.

Cold is the main seasonal risk, and winter here is genuinely hard; hypothermia and frostbite are real possibilities for the badly equipped.

Sun and reflected glare on snow require high-factor protection and eye protection.

Ticks are present in the lower woodland.

The village has a pharmacy and a small medical service; the nearest emergency department is at Aosta, about forty minutes by road, and longer if the road is snowbound.

The regional mountain rescue flies with a doctor and covers this valley, weather permitting.

EHIC and GHIC cards are accepted; insurance covering mountain rescue, ice climbing and ski touring is strongly advisable.

The single emergency number across Italy is 112, reaching police, ambulance, fire and mountain rescue, with operators here working in Italian and French.

Other numbers still in use: 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire.

For mountain rescue, call 112 and ask for the Soccorso Alpino Valdostano; helicopters fly from Aosta with a doctor aboard and are grounded by weather, which in this valley can mean a long wait.

The nearest emergency department is the Ospedale Parini in Aosta, about forty minutes by road. The village has a pharmacy and a small medical service.

Report thefts to the Carabinieri, who have a station in the village.

The park wardens are the people to tell about an injured animal or a hazard on a path, and they are contactable through the visitor centre or through 112.

The region publishes a daily avalanche bulletin in winter, in Italian and French, which anybody ski touring or snowshoeing here should read.