Levens – Plan du Var – Mont-Arpasse circular loop

Park in the car park on the right, on Chemin de la Cumba, just after the Fire and Rescue Centre.

(S/E) Head towards the sewage treatment works. The path is difficult to find because of a new building under construction next to it.

(1) I recommend turning left through the woods to get round this building and then quickly heading down into the valley to easily find the path by the stream. Continue down a good path, with a panoramic view of a splendid valley! You’ll arrive at the Canal de la Vésubie.

(2) Follow the stream as closely as possible for a few hundred metres.

(3) Leave the canal via the path that descends to the right towards the Vésubie. Walk alongside the river, following the path and then the track to Plan du Var, which you’ll reach at the departmental road. Turn left to enter the village and walk past the town hall.

(4) Just before the Cassini restaurant, take the narrow staircase on the left which leads uphill and follow the signs for “Mont Arpasse”, marked in yellow. Cross the Canal de la Vésubie and continue the steep, steady climb through a series of hairpin bends. You will reach the junction marked by signpost 296.

(5) Turn right, following the sign for “Mont Arpasse”, and reach the summit.

(6) Take the time to walk around the summit to admire the sea on one side and the Mercantour and the Estéron on the other. Then begin the descent towards Levens along a wide track. Further on, ignore a path branching off to the left towards the Ravin de l’Arpasse and continue along the track, which winds down a few bends before reaching a junction at marker 294 and an aerial.

(7) Follow the track to the right until you reach a road (Chemin de la Mole) in a housing estate. Continue in the same direction for about 150 metres.

(8) Turn left onto the path leading downhill past the last villa in the housing estate. Cut across the road to rejoin the path opposite, which serves as a shortcut. Back on the road, turn right to reach the Fire and Rescue Centre.

(9) Turn left to quickly reach the car park (S/E).

You can do the circular route in the opposite direction or start from Plan du Var.

I recommend doing it in the cool of the morning during the summer or in the evening. In the morning, the light is particularly pleasant and the climb is in the shade.

It takes a good two hours to complete the circular route as a brisk walk, or longer if you take breaks and adopt a slower pace.