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View towards Fond de la Combe (bottom of the valley) with the river Le Giffre

The Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval is a large cirque in the Giffre Massif in the French Prealps near the village of Sixt-Fer-à-Chevalat. This natural cirque lies at the end of the Giffre River valley (Vallée du Giffre) and has cliffs ranging from 500 to 700 meters in height. The cirque is surrounded by peaks reaching almost 3000 meters.


The Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval takes its name from the shape of its cliffs, which form a semicircle. Its impressive height (2000 m). The site comprises two parts: the Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval and the Fond de la Combe. The two are separated by the protrusion of the Pic de Tenneverge (2836 m) and its extension, the Cornes du Chamois (2523 m).

The rocks forming this Horseshoe Massif are limestones formed during the Jurassic period (199 to 145 million years ago). During the uplift of the Alps, from 50 MA, these rock masses were pushed towards the west and were strongly folded (some rocks multiple times).

In the cirque, around thirty waterfalls tumble from the cliffs in the spring when the snow melts. During the summer, eleven waterfalls remain. At the bottom of the valley, the Bout du Monde also has a good ten waterfalls.

Stream Le Giffre

Holiday 2025 - Le Mont (Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, France)

_FRANKRIJK 2025 _NATURE Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cirque du Fer-à-Cheval EN: Giffre valley EN: Horseshoe Circus France Haute-Savoie Le Giffre mountain mountain peak nature rock stream tree Vallée du Giffre Water

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1030 meter

Z9-0302a.NEF

9-Aug-2025 13:57:28

Digital camera

30-Dec-2025 22:08:21

30-Dec-2025 22:08:31

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