Calanque de l’Escu via the Sormiou and Cortiou passes

Date of your route : Jan 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

As usual, the difficulty of the route is all relative. I didn’t have any trouble at all, but for my partner, who suffers from vertigo, it was a bit of a struggle in places. The rock is very weathered.

The route is magnificent in bright light.

With the GPS track, it’s hard to get lost, even if the description is rather brief.

Thank you for this lovely suggestion.

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Date of your route : Oct 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A nice walk. I was expecting the section between points 2 and 3 to be much tougher. It’s the sort of terrain where you certainly don’t want to trip, but it’s doable. Personally, when I’m out in the Calanques, I always take walking poles for the descents – they help. I used them on this walk, but at no point did I feel like I was going to take a tumble… unlike on other walks I’ve done in the Calanques.

The start is incredibly boring as you’re on the road to Sormiou with loads of cars, but as soon as you join the GR98 it gets better. On my walk, I was all on my own at the Calanque de l’Escu – a real treat!

I looked for the rest of the path to carry on towards the Calanque de Podestat in the direction of Callelongue, but I couldn’t find it, so on the way back I took the same route as on the way there.

One thing to note about swimming: even if you feel up to climbing down – and, more importantly, back up – the submerged boulders, it seems the water in this spot is quite polluted due to discharge from nearby, at the Calanque de Cortiou.

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Date of your route : Feb 06, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A walk with some interesting views, though there are a few issues with the route description:

At point 1, you need to follow the red-and-white GR markings. It’s at point 2 that the green markings appear.

Between points 2 and 3, perhaps a bit more emphasis should be placed on the difficulty of the terrain: the people I was with weren’t exactly reassured! There’s a fairly steep section to cross, with no rope or chain to help, and in a stretch that’s often exposed to the wind. On the way back, just as the markings changed to dotted green, we saw a sign saying ‘Difficult – danger’. This is indeed a more realistic warning for an inexperienced walker.

In short: if you enjoy a bit of a scramble, the walk is enjoyable. Otherwise, you’ll be left with some bad memories of this section!

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