Charmant Som

Charmant Som is a 1,867-metre limestone summit in the Chartreuse Mountains of the French Alps, roughly 25 kilometres north of Grenoble. Its gently rounded profile — far less rugged than the surrounding peaks — explains both its name and the expansive alpine meadows that carpet its upper slopes, which shepherds have grazed since the Middle Ages. A road built between the two World Wars climbs from the Col de Porte to within 200 metres of the top, making this one of the more accessible high-altitude destinations in the Chartreuse range. At the summit, two buildings serve as a mountain inn and a working cheese dairy, where visitors can buy locally produced alpine cheese. On clear days the viewpoint opens up sweeping vistas across the Chartreuse plateau and toward the Belledonne range.