LE RU CURTAUD

One of the simplest and most relaxing trekking routes in the Ayas Valley is the one that runs for 16 kilometres along one of the wonders of local engineering, the canal called "Ru Curtaud" or "Curtod". The route takes place in a fir wood, on a wide, almost flat path that can be walked by any walker without equipment. The route is divided into two sections of equal length: the first part starts at the top of the hamlet of Saint-Jacques and arrives at Barmasc near Antagnod; the second part connects this last village to the Col de Joux, where the water flows into a small valley. Be careful, however, with a few short unlit tunnels in the second section, which add a few shivers to the ride. The canal is one of the best preserved examples of water management in the Alps, its irrigation function being identical to that of the Valais bisses. In the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Saint-Vincent, in the central valley, owned their agricultural land on a particularly dry and steep hillside and suffered from a chronic lack of water. To compensate for the lack of this vital resource, in 1383 Count Yblet de Challant ordered the construction of a ru to carry water directly from the Verraz glacier in the upper Val d'Ayas to the unfortunate community.