Cabane des Alpages

Cabane des Alpages is a new and fresh concept of sleeping in the trees.

Located in les Gras, France (5 minutes from the swiss border), this tree house is a “self-made” fancy tree house.

While the concept is very fresh and consists of one single tree house, there are plans to expand it. The house has been built by Nicolas together with volunteers and consists of a two stories tree house.

The top floor is where you will have the living room, a small kitchen with oven, running water sink, bathroom (with running water shower!) and the toilet (dry). The whole place is beautifully decorated and furnished.

The bedrooms are located at the bottom floor that you can access through an hatch in the floor. It consists of one large bed with a beautiful light decoration and a front window with garden view.

While the outside of the hut is beautifully decorated with a very specific hand wood work called “Tavillon” in French, the inside of the hut has everything you will need in case you plan to stay multiple days. As it has running water and electricity, you can cook yourself directly at home.

Altough dinner is not included, it is possible to add it if requested. Breakfast consist of tea/coffee but can be adjusted and discussed before your stay.

Activities

Two main activities are proposed and can be organized prior to your stay.

You can learn how to take care of bees, from looking after the queen, re-organizing hives and tasting fresh honey. That activity was really funny and very instructive!

Make sure to put the full protection ;D while bees are supposed to be very friendly and that Nicolas took care of them without any, I definitely can recommend to put a full protection, especially if you have long hair. If they get trapped in there, they get scared and might sting (not out of anger but of fear). Anyhow, as I never took care of a bee hive, I learned quite a lot and the honey is definitely a reward worth the work.

The second activity is the production of “Tavaillon”, these cut wooden planks that are used to decorate the walls of the tree hut. We did not have time to try it but Nicolas is a very skilled handworker and the whole hut has been built on that basis.

A few minutes away by car, you can reach the “Cascade des Chaudières”, a beautiful waterfall carved in the rocks over multiple years. The place can be more or less reached by car or through a hike that start in the village. It is quite nice and worth a stop if you are already in the region!

Future expansion and additions to the place

While the hotel consists of a single hut for now, Its expansion is already planned and on its way. By end of 2020, a Nordic bath and a beautiful garden will be added. Additionally, plans are to add an additional hut for kids so that families can also stay without problems.

Short movie can be found here!

Learn more about that place here!

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