Circuit of the valleys at the foot of the Col de la Gardiole

Date of your route : Dec 04, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Everything has been said in the previous comments. Good physical condition is recommended to get through certain passages. Do not leave anything in your vehicles; broken glass debris throughout the car park attests to frequent theft, which does not encourage you to return.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jan 08, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, the start of which is a little frustrating due to its steepness, but this adds to the wonder when you reach the ridge and its sublime view.
The icing on the cake is leaving the main paths to descend into the Cirque des Pételins, which is pure pleasure
There are no major difficulties, but you do need to be sure-footed and agile, though it's nothing complicated.
IBP HKG rating 63.
Thank you for this discovery.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's true that during the week, the few people we met were heading to Calanque d'en Vau. It's a very varied route, with plenty to see: the sea to the right and left, Marseille and Cassis in the distance. A superb hike. As for the Vallon des Pételins, it's magical.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jan 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very beautiful hike with superb views, the Vallon des Pételins is more than half the attraction. I highly recommend this part of the circuit.
Highly recommended!

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Oct 21, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Confirmation: the Gardiole Pass road is closed, so you must park at the foot of the military camp. you must take the road on foot and, as soon as the road turns right, take the red-marked path that cuts across the hairpin bends and takes you close to point DA; this takes 15 minutes each way and should be indicated on the map

In addition, the detour via the Cirque des Pételins is a little exposed and very slippery. With one member of the team having balance issues, we had to turn back and take the shortcut from WP 3 to WP6.
The IGN map is out of date around WP1: there are new paths that can be misleading.

Otherwise, thank you for this magnificent hike: highly recommended

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Feb 06, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

hello,
Please note that you must park at the start of the Gardiole road as it is closed to traffic (€135 fine). Use the GPX track offline as I am not comfortable with the map.
A very pretty hike in a place where you feel like you're alone in the world. The steep climb between points 1 and 2 is over a scree slope of small stones, which is quite tiring on the legs, but what a view when you reach the top! Similarly, the descent between points 3 and 4 is tricky (no danger except to your pride if you end up on your backside), again because of the small stones, which are even more unstable underfoot when going downhill. When we reached point 5, our legs refused to climb up to the karstic cave of the Marseillais because I knew it was a steep climb. We continued along the Vallon des Rampes to reach the junction with the Vallon d'En-Vau and climbed back up via the forest house and the Col de la Gardiole.
It was a superb day, and thanks to the person who organised this hike.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Oct 22, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

I did this hike to check it out before taking a group there. It was a great discovery because it's a really beautiful route with very diverse landscapes (and lots of options for variations).
This route is accessible to most people, although it is a little "strenuous" in some sections and requires a minimum level of fitness.
There are no particular dangers and only two sections require a little caution:
- On the path that climbs up the Sainte Marthe valley, there are two small rocky outcrops where you need to use your hands to help you.
- The start of the descent from the valley is quite steep in the scree of the magnificent Cirque des Pételins, which is a must-see. (Alternatively, you can head straight for the Crête de l'Estret to reach the Col de La Gardiole, but it would be a shame to miss this spectacular wilderness, where few people venture!
In short, this is a hike not to be missed, but best done in good weather conditions.
Nothing but pleasure!

Machine-translated

Date of your route : May 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

We thoroughly enjoyed this hike, which allowed us to discover an area we would never have been able to explore on our own. The access road to Col de la Gardiole appears to be permanently closed. You therefore need to park opposite the military camp, along Route de la Gineste. This makes the route longer in terms of time.
At the top of the Vallon de Ste Marthe, we recommend continuing for about 25 metres to enjoy an exceptional view, then resuming the route on the yellow marked trail.
The descent into the Cirque des Pételins is an absolute must! You'll be alone in the world and the view is breathtaking. It's the best part of the hike!
Thank you very much for this wonderful day.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Mar 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A wonderful adventure, a superb hike with, for me, just one variation... starting from the Carpiagne car park,
then I followed the author's route to the letter, with the help of the Visorando app on my smartphone.
so it was a slightly longer route (13 km/ +595 metres of elevation gain)
one might be tempted to classify it as "rather difficult", but with an IBP of 69, the medium difficulty rating is correct.
Yes, some sections may seem difficult, but take your time and it's doable.
It was a fabulous adventure, and I would like to thank the author for allowing me to discover these routes, which are not formally marked on the IGN map of the Calanques from Marseille to Cassis, just a simple black line.
I have been visiting the Calanques for many years and live 3 km from the massif. With more than 100 hikes a year in our beautiful Calanques, I am still discovering new things.
To do this hike without the Vallon des Pételins is to take away more than half of the interest. I highly RECOMMEND this part of the circuit.
A gigantic landscape awaits us in the Cirque des Pételins.
I recommend it for its complete change of scenery, as I haven't met a soul in the Pételins.
To the author: it might be a good idea to clarify point 4 to prevent some people from cutting left (by following the black trail to the east) and thus not descending towards the Vallon des Rampes.

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Sep 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

pleasant walk

Machine-translated

Date of your route : Jan 24, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A beautiful, varied and enjoyable hike with stunning views.
The start from the Chalabran valley, a wide wooded track, makes it easy to reach the Cancel well, where the difficulties begin with the rather steep climb up the Sainte Marthe valley to reach the Estret ridge, which offers a beautiful panorama. I continued straight on to the Col de la Gardiole, thus cutting out part of the hike, and from there I returned to the small car park where I had left my car.

Machine-translated

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

Hello,
we explored this beautiful hike today so we can take our group there later. We left our car opposite Carpiagne, in a small car park along the D559 rather than at the stele and pillars. We had trouble finding the "fallen pine tree" and only started the descent towards the Rampes valley because it seemed too risky for a group of senior citizens.
So we turned back and continued along the Crête des Estrets to the Col de la Gardiole, where DFCI foresters (who have clearly never been hiking) told us that descending into the Vallon des Rampes from the Crête des Estrets was dangerous.
What is the real situation? I haven't read anything about this in any of the comments!
Return from the Col de La Gardiole via the red and green marked trail to the pillars and stele, then back up the red marked trail to the D559.
A magnificent hike, even without descending into the Vallon des Rampes and climbing back up via L'Aven des Marseillais.

Machine-translated

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

Hello,
we explored this beautiful hike today so we can take our group there later. We left our car opposite Carpiagne, in a small car park along the D559 rather than at the stele and pillars. We had trouble finding the "fallen pine tree" and only started the descent towards the Rampes valley because it seemed too risky for a group of senior citizens.
So we turned back and continued along the Crête des Estrets to the Col de la Gardiole, where DFCI foresters (who have clearly never been hiking) told us that descending into the Vallon des Rampes from the Crête des Estrets was dangerous.
What is the real situation? I haven't read anything about it in any of the comments!
Return from the Col de La Gardiole via the red and green marked trail to the pillars and stele, then back up the red marked trail to the D559.
A magnificent hike, even without descending into the Vallon des Rampes and climbing back up via L'Aven des Marseillais.

Machine-translated

thank you!

Machine-translated

Hello
Indeed, Tchoun, this is not normal. I have deleted the posts

Machine-translated