The name derives from the French word Chamois (buff). A small mountain village located at over 1800 meters high, surrounded by woods and pastures, in the middle valley of the Matterhorn, Chamois is the highest located town in the whole Val d'Aosta and can be reached only on foot, by air or by cable car starting from Buisson. It features typical homes of wood and stone, and the town is crossed by narrow streets and offers a temperate climate. In Chamois one lives in contact with mother nature in the most total peace and in Winter, the great skiing facilities offer different degrees of difficulty. From the village square, overlooked by the church, the Town Hall, the cable car and ski lifts stations, branch out paths that lead to the surrounding villages. Even though traces of prehistoric settlements have been found in the area, it seems that the first human settlements here were in Roman and pre-Roman times and probable only in the late Middle Ages, there was a permanent population. It was a fief of the Lords of Challant-Montjovet, unlike other nearby areas of Valtournenche, that were subject to the Challant-Cly. The wife of Challant François, Baron de Chatillon, sheltered in Chamois to escape from the troops of Louis XIV, when they invaded the Val d'Aosta, but only for a short while, as she was taken hostage by the commander of the French and deported back to Chatillon. In the XVIII century Chamois was ceded to the Cly and in 1751, it became independant with a census by the feudal baron of Cly. In the second half of the century public schools were founded and the following years the inhabitants of Chamois continued to promote the education of the people.

Not to miss:

The Chapel Corgnolaz, restored in 1632, the original building gave way to a larger church, consecrated in 1707. The latter, dedicated to Saint Pantaleone, was rebuilt in 1838. It features a single rectangular nave with an apse and a tower equipped with four bells. Inside it preserves a wooden altar in Baroque style dating from the XVIII, carved, painted and partially gilded, from the old church of Torgnon. The altar features statues of saints and the Madonna and Child. In the small museum of the parish, there is a cross of the XV century and a silver chalice of 1614. The adjoining rectory was built in 1844.
The Chapel of Notre Dame de la Pitie in Suiss, built in 1707, was destroyed following a landslide and rebuilt in 1931. It preserves an ancient wooden statue carved and painted, depicting the Pietà, dating to the period between the XVI and the XVIII century and a painting of the period between the XVIII and XIX centuries depicting the Holy Trinity.
The mill in Crepin, built in 1834 with an attached chapel du Mont Tabor in 1856. It is located near a stream and features a circular plan and was built on the ruins of a previous structure
The Chapel of Moulins, consecrated to the Trinity, built in 1691 and restored in 1880. It lies hidden among the larches, a few meters from the bridge over the stream Chamois
The Lake of Lod, located near to the village, is a small lake in the countryside.
Various ancient houses, the oldest of which dates from 1654.