France · Alps
Col de la Bonette
Often claimed as the highest paved road in the Alps (the loop road around the Cime tops 2800m). A long, lonely climb through military territory.
- Length
- 24.0 km
- Avg gradient
- 6.6%
- Max gradient
- 12%
- Elevation gain
- 1,589 m
- Summit
- 2,802 m
- Hairpins
- 20
Versants
- From Jausiers — 24.0 km at 6.6% (max 12%)
- From Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée — 26.0 km at 6.4% (max 10%)
History
The Col de la Bonette is often claimed as the highest paved pass in the Alps — though the claim is slightly playful. The main pass itself sits at 2,715 m, but a small loop road around the Cime de la Bonette climbs to roughly 2,802 m, and that summit loop is what generates the 'highest' title. The road was built in 1947 as a military access route through remote high-Alpine territory.
The climb is long and lonely: 24 km from Jausiers with few villages, no cafés at the summit, and a desolate, barren landscape of rock and shale at the top. The Tour de France has used it only three times, each appearance cementing a reputation for isolation and raw Alpine character rather than dramatics — the Bonette simply exists at altitude, unadorned.
Its nearest rival for highest-pass status is the Col de l'Iseran, marginally higher, but the Bonette loop road has become a destination for cyclists hunting altitude records, and the lack of development or crowds around the summit makes the isolation part of the appeal.