Set high above the French Riviera, the Mercantour National Park sets the scene for dramatic hikes in an alpine setting: serrated peaks, sacred rock carvings, mountain lakes and refuges, abundant wildlife, alpine pastures carpeted with wildflowers and your nights spent in a cosy chalet. During this self-guided walking trip, you spend the first two nights in the authentic and picturesque village of La Brigue, nestled in the Roya valley and complete a warm-up hike in lower altitudes. You're then transferred to the hamlet of Castérino at over 1500m, where you settle into a cosy chalet-style hotel. Gateway into Mercantour National park, Castérino is the perfect base from which to explore the stunning alpine landscapes of the Mercantour.
Although we've chosen well-trodden paths in and around the park, it is important to note: this is a trip for experienced hikers, and set in an alpine environment with considerable daily altitude gain up to 800m.
You arrive in the timeless village of La Brigue nestled in the mountains near the Italian border, with its beautiful architecture and its centuries-old homes with colourful façades. The village traded its Italian flag for a French one in 1947 and much of this valley is bathed in a Franco-Italian fusion of language, food, and culture.
Meals included : none
Night : La Brigue
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There is a small grocery store in town for buying picnic items. It's a hike in lower altitudes to warm up your legs. You climb from the town of La Brigue up a tight valley laden with wild lavender & thyme. Passing the ruins of stone dwellings you reach the Boselia pass and begin a breathtaking and panoramic descent to Tende, the very last town before the Italian border. Take a well-deserved pause in town at a local café or restaurant before returning to La Brigue.
In the morning you are transferred to the hamlet of Castérino to your cosy chalet-style hotel, your base for the next three nights. Nestled at the base of the lush green valley, the hamlet of Castérino is sprinkled with mountain chalets and surrounded by forested slopes. Leaving your hotel on foot you climb upwards through the evergreen forest and soon the last of the larch trees give way to open pastures and bare rock. Atop the crest you'll enjoy panoramic views of the serrated peaks of the Mercantour National Park to the east. Atop a forestry track you'll encounter former bunkers, witnesses to a not so distant military past. A leisurely descent leads back to the hamlet of Castérino.
A short transfer takes you to the Lac des Mèches lake to begin your hike. Passing a former mining community and then up the Vallon de la Minière, you enter the Mercantour National Park boundaries. Under the watchful eyes of the chamois and ibex that grace the slopes and even the elusive wolves, you leave the forest behind and become surrounded by wildflowers. Amid a setting of crystal clear mountain lakes and denuded peaks, you reach the Refuge des Merveilles hut. You can enjoy a drink at the refuge and soak up the alpine ambiance. You walk back to the Lac des Mèches for a transfer back to Casterino.
Today you climb through the bucolic Fontanalba valley and once again enter the heart of the National Park. You reach the Lac Vert from where you can explore some of the 100 000 sacred stone carvings some of which are 6 000 years old. The site of Fontanalba regroups more carvings then elsewhere in the park and many are set beside the marked trails accessible to all hikers without an accredited guide. An optional route takes you to the pristine lakes of the Valmasque valley. Return to Castérino for your third and final night.
Transfer to La Brigue after breakfast. End of your trip in la Brigue. You can catch the train back to Nice.