The Col de Vars, elevation 2108 m (6916 ft) is a high

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

between the departments of

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...

and

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It connects the

Ubaye Valley The Ubaye Valley is an area in the Alpes de Haute-Provence ''département'', in the French Alps, having approximately 7,700 residents. Its residents are called ''Ubayens''. Its principal town is the ''sous-préfecture'' of Barcelonnette. 350px, ...

with the

Queyras The Queyras ( oc, Cairàs) is a valley located in the French Hautes-Alpes, of which the geographical extent is the basin of the river Guil, a tributary of the Durance. The Queyras is one of the oldest mountain ranges of the Alps, and it was one of ...

valley and Embrun. It is traversed by highway D 902, which leads from

Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye (, literally ''Saint-Paul on Ubaye''; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Sant Pau d'Ubaia'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Population See also * Ubaye Valley *Communes of the Alpes-de-Haut ...

in the southeast to Vars and on to

Guillestre Guillestre (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Guilhèstra'') is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Geography The village lies in the northwestern part of the commune, on the left bank of the Chagne, a stream, tributary of the Guil ...

in the northwest. The pass has been included in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

33 times since 1922, when

Philippe Thys Philippe Thys (; nl, Philippe Thĳs; 8 October 1889 – 16 January 1971) was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France. Professional career In 1910, Thys won Belgium's first national cyclo-cross championship. The foll ...

crossed the pass for the first time. (Tour de France 1922 - 2000)

External links

de Vars (Col de Vars) - Tour Facts)
(French)
Col de Vars on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)Cycling up to the Col de Vars: data, profile, map, photos and description
Vars Vars Landforms of Hautes-Alpes Transport in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur {{Provence-geo-stub