Access:

From La Roche des Arnauds, take the scenic Route Nationale 94 and linger in the charming towns of Chorges, Savines-Le-Lac, Crots, and Embrun before reaching Réotier. Then take the D37. Park in the designated parking areas after the iron bridge. The journey will have covered 70 km and taken approximately one hour.

Once parked, you can take one of two paths leading from the parking area: a more direct dirt track, or another that winds through landscaped green spaces and past ponds inhabited by a local species of yellow toad. In 5 minutes, you'll be at the foot of this truly remarkable fountain, a Natura 2000 ecological site recognized at the European level.

But look at it more closely…

"The Petrifying Fountain" is a somewhat unsettling monument, a natural sculpture, a magical place, a unique natural curiosity in the Hautes-Alpes department.

At the top, amidst a backdrop of draperies with strange, shimmering concretions, you see water arrive through a narrow aerial channel and cascade into a wide basin where you can find leaves, twigs, and insects trapped in a calcareous matrix. Why these oddities of Mother Nature?

A chemical reaction is at the origin of these metamorphoses. The water, highly mineralized in gypsum and limestone, comes from a thermal mineral spring with a temperature of around 22°C. Upon contact with atmospheric oxygen, this carbonate-rich water transforms into minute travertine limestone particles which, layer upon layer, shape these strange, ever-evolving forms. Many generations have imagined them as monsters. You too, haven't you?

The monster lost its head twice, in 1981 and 2009, but each time nature tirelessly brings it back to life by sculpting it anew.

The site is classified as remarkable. Why?

The village of Réotier is located on the outskirts of the Ecrins National Park.

In the 19th century, the Gap-Briançon railway line was built, and the base of the fountain was unceremoniously demolished! As a result, the train now passes very close to this exceptional site. What a shame! To protect it from any further alterations, on June 7, 1937, the site was officially classified as a picturesque natural monument of the Hautes-Alpes.

Furthermore, the site is designated as Natura 2000, meaning a rare ecological site recognized at the European level as representative of the EU's natural heritage, the salinity of its water allowing a particular fauna and flora to develop there in a specific area of ​​salt marshes.

 Furthermore, the Hautes-Alpes Departmental Council has recognized the Fontaine de Réotier site as a Sensitive Natural Area (ENS), therefore protected and monitored.

 A site known since antiquity.

Located on the Roman road from Arles to Rome, "The Petrifying Fountain" has been known and frequented since Antiquity.

Moreover, at the foot of the fountain, 300 to 400 Roman coins in gold, silver, or bronze were discovered in 1889 during the construction of the railway line. They were dated. The oldest date from the Roman Empire: 14 to 37 BC (Tiberius) up to 350 to 353 AD (Magnentius).

On the road to Rome, in this "miraculous" spring, travelers left offerings of all kinds, such as this small leg of a Roman bronze statuette and many other archaeological remains visible at the Gap Museum.

At the start of the visit (or on the return) in the parking lot, linger and learn about the legend attached to these strange places subject to fantasies and beliefs.

And since you're curious and love beautiful views, come on, just a little further, a little more courage! Climb the steps that go around the fountain, on the right, to discover the source of this fabulous spring. And from this elevated vantage point, marvel at the landscapes of the Guillestrois region, the fortified town of Mont Dauphin, so dear to Vauban and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Durance River, the Plan de la Phazy, and so much more… so many places to see, to visit, again and again, for your greatest pleasure!

A source of invigorating inspiration, the Petrifying Fountain is a magical place… so go there and make a wish; you're sure to meet the nymphs who live there and who will grant it! Good luck!