Route in the Mercantour

Thank you very much for your feedback. Two comments in response to your comment, as well as a word of caution:
- this route, as specified in the descriptions, takes place at significant altitudes, well above 2,000 metres. However, this year, despite global warming, there has been heavy snowfall and in June there is still a lot of snow around 2,600 metres
- i have classified this route as difficult, which may need to be raised a notch at this time of year, and for those who have given up, this is entirely justified. I believe that this type of decision is in no way a failure or a regret, but simply common sense, which we should all exercise when choosing a hike
- Ultimately, however, this route is not described with snow in mind. It is therefore highly advisable to check with local professionals, guides and lodge keepers beforehand to get an accurate idea of the current conditions.
Enjoy your future hikes.

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Date of your route : Jun 17, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

With the snow, this route gave us a lot to think about, but luckily we had crampons.
The passage between the Refuge des Merveilles and the Refuge de Nice takes much longer than noted.
The route is still difficult, and some people we met gave up. Thank you.

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Date of your route : Jul 31, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Superb hike with some fairly steep sections (particularly the Baisse du Basto and the Mont Colomb pass). Virtually no mobile phone coverage (which is a good thing :-).
Camping is permitted between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. except in the Vallée des Merveilles.
Ideally, avoid the period from 10 July to 20 August, when it is very busy.
Extraordinary flora, fauna and landscapes!
The route can be done in either direction.

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Date of your route : Sep 02, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A superb hike over terrain that was rough in places, sometimes resulting in a ridiculously slow average walking speed of around 2 km/h...
Over four days, we set off from Lake Saint Grat towards the north-east (Pont du Countet) and ended up in Saint Martin Vésubie.
It was wonderful to be surrounded by nature for four days, with lots of chamois and water in abundance...

Enjoy!

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Hello,

Is it possible and worthwhile to do this route in reverse? Or is it better to avoid it? (problem with booking the first refuge...)

Thank you

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Hello,

I am planning to do this hike next summer and I have two questions:

• is it safe to leave a vehicle for several days at Pont du Countet (1)? Can we leave the car in Saint-Grat (24) or Les Clots?

• I am considering a variation that goes via the Valmasque refuge and the Rifugio Pagari. Are the trails well marked?

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Date of your route : Sep 13, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The three of us completed this hike in three days instead of four, camping along the way.
By doing it in three days, we more or less combined days two and three of the original route.
Day 1: We set off in the early afternoon for a 3-4 hour walk and 800m of elevation gain to reach the bivouac area near the Refuge des Merveilles. Please note that camping is prohibited in the Vallée des Merveilles, as we had originally planned. However, the campsite near the refuge offers plenty of choice, lots of space, beautiful views of the lakes and the sunrise (and few people at this time of year, with no tents visible where we were set up).
Day 2: we left the refuge in the morning and walked to the Prals lakes for our second bivouac. It was a big second day with 8 hours of actual walking. There was a lot of climbing with two "summits" at over 2500m. We passed the Nice and Madone refuges and finished with a final climb to reach the Prals lakes (the original path is under construction until October 2019, the detour is well signposted but adds nearly an hour to the walk)
Lots of chamois, marmots, cows and sheep, as well as the rock carvings in the Vallée des Merveilles
Day 3: last day with a 4-hour walk to reach the starting point. A steep descent with a 1,000 m drop over 3 km, which is noticeable when you are carrying a heavy load.

Overall: a very beautiful hike that takes 15 hours of walking with backpacks. No worries about water, whether from drinking water sources or lakes and rivers that can be treated.
Be aware, however, that there are some fairly steep sections that may not be accessible to everyone.
Enjoy your hike!

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Date of your route : Sep 07, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Great hike.
Completed in a day and a half with a bivouac at the Prals lakes.
I encountered over a hundred chamois and two birds of prey at the end of the day.
Note that there are a few slightly technical descents.

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We would like to go hiking for 4-5 days in Mercantour National Park in early October, but many of the mountain huts are closed.
What would you recommend?

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Date of your route : Aug 05, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,

This route served as the basis for our hike.
We made two small changes, which were as follows...

On the second day, we did not stop at the Nice refuge, but continued walking for another hour towards the Clapier lakes to prepare for the third day, which logically... took us to Mont Clapier.
We slept at the foot of the Nice refuge that evening.

Similarly, we did not stop at the Madonne de Fenestre refuge, but continued on to the Prals lakes (thus deviating from the indicated route)
We spent the night there, then returned to Pont du Countet.
The Prals lakes are a magnificent place to sleep.

Laurent

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Date of your route : Sep 10, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful route with moderate elevation gain.
The uphill trails are on compact terrain.
The descents require a little concentration on the often very rocky sections.
The view is fantastic, with numerous lakes and animals (chamois and ibex) that can be approached within a few metres!
Be careful in the protected area of the Parc des Merveilles around the Refuge des Merveilles. Bring capes for your walking poles, otherwise they are prohibited.

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Date of your route : Jul 08, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb hike.

We did it in three days, combining stages 2 and 3.
The second day was a long stage, but nothing insurmountable.

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Hello, the hike will take place in July.
Thank you for everything

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Date of your route : Aug 03, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

thank you very much for this hiking route and the clear description. I did the route in July this year with two children and a teenager, completely independently. Be careful on the second day, as the climb up and then down from Lake Baisso is quite slow for children: the climb up the scree is tricky, as you have to jump from rock to rock. The descent is also a little tricky for children, and the path is not really marked in the first part of the descent. Fortunately, there are lots of cairns, so no worries in good weather.
At night, the storms on Mount Bego are very impressive, with lots of lightning. It's easy to understand why our ancestors were drawn to this sacred mountain and carved their wonders into it. There are also lots of animals, including chamois, marmots and ibex, which are not shy. Fortunately, Bernardino had drawn my attention to the water and we took precautions.
Thank you very much!

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Date of your route : Jun 16, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We did this beautiful hike through Mercantour in mid-June and really enjoyed it. We stayed an extra night at the Refuge des Merveilles so we could take our time visiting the rock carvings. The carvings were a little disappointing, but our guide Eric's explanations were absolutely fascinating.

The path is perfectly marked and presents no real difficulty in good weather conditions. There are several snowfields to cross (Baisse du Basto, descent from Pas du Mont Colomb towards the Refuge de la Madone) but these presented no difficulty at the times we crossed them (between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.). We were lucky to have excellent weather (with quite a few clouds forming in the late afternoon but no storms) except for one afternoon when we had a lot of fog on the descent from Baisse du Basto towards the Nice refuge. The GPS helped us find the right path...

We really appreciated the welcome we received at the three refuges (Merveilles, Nice, Madone). Special mention must be made of the quality of the cuisine at the Merveilles refuge.

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