Combe de la Fayolle-D211A Road

Driving the challenging D211A through Combe de la Fayolle

Combe de la Fayolle is the name of a very defiant ravine located in the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Avoid the drive if you don’t like heights. It’s one of the French balcony roads.

Tucked away on the southeastern part of the country, the scary road through the ravine is called D211A. It’s also known as Auris balcony road or Route de la Roche. Carved into the mountainside, the road is totally paved but extremely narrow. The drive has a big risk of rock slides and it’s not recommended for drivers who are prone to vertigo.

With drop offs of 500 meters, it's normal for your palms to sweat looking at those photos; imagine what it must have been like before the barriers. It makes you realize how lethal one small riding mistake can be. The tortuous road has 3 narrow and unlit tunnels. Perched on a cliff above the Romanche valley, the staggering road is 7.6km (4.72 miles) long running from Auris to Le Bourg-d'Oisans. The awe-inspiring balcony road overlooks the Romanche valley and Bourg d’Oisans from high above.
This road is heavily used by locals – so expect traffic coming contrary to you. Having this in mind its worth to think about on which end you start to drive: If you start at Le Bourg-d'Oisans you are always on the hill side and the traffic coming contrary might have a problem with the drop – but it’s not you. Additionally, some parts of the road are rather tight so it’s better to drive it without huge sidecases: leave them in the hotel. The ordinary traffic includes trucks, cars and bicycles- also bicycles driven by children. There are also some tunnels were only one vehicle can drive through. Blow your horn before entering these tunnels.

 

 

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