The Cime du Diable

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Hike along the Authion border, climb the Cime du Diable (2,685 m), with views of the lakes of the Vallée des Merveilles and its ancient rock carvings.

Details

n°43151
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.53 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 8h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 1,172 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 1,176 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 2,679 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1,829 m
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Photos

Lac de la Cime du Diable
Chamois
Remains of the massive Authion battlefield
Zoom in on the lakes from the summit of Le Cime du Diable

Description of the walk

From Nice, drive up the Var valley on the RD6202 to Plan du Var, passing in front of Authion. Leave the village and turn right into the Vésubie valley on the RD2565, following it to Lantosque. Head towards Roquebilière. Turn right onto the Bollène Vésubie road (RD70) to the Col de Turini. Continue towards Camp d'Argent, climbing up the RD68 discovery trail. There are plenty of parking spaces at the war memorial.

(S/E) Take the north-east path to quickly reach the junction of marker 410 and theGR®52.

(1) Take theGR® downhill to the left, reaching marker 409 and Baisse de Saint Vérant at the foot of Crête de l'Ortiguier.

(2) Stay on theGR® and continue climbing to reach the Col de Raus at marker 406.

(3) Continue on theGR® to reach the Baisse Cavaline crossroads.

(4) Leave theGR® here, turn left and then begin a series of switchbacks. You will then reach the summit of Mont Capelet Supérieur.

(5) Continue and, via a beautiful, well-marked and easy traverse of large rocks, reach the Cime du Diable.

(6) Now begin the descent, quickly reaching Pas de Trem. Turn right, pass the Lacs du Diable lakes to reach Pas du Diable, marker 405. Here you will rejoin theGR®52.

(7) Take it to the right, then reach the Source du Caïros.

(8) Continue along theGR® to reach the Baisse Cavaline crossroads, which you passed on the way there.

(4). Retrace your steps to return to the War Memorial (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 2,031 m - Parking at the war memorial. - l'Authion
  2. 1 : km 0.67 - alt. 2,050 m - Pointe des Trois Communes
  3. 2 : km 3.04 - alt. 1,832 m - La baisse de St Véran
  4. 3 : km 4.29 - alt. 2,001 m - Le col de Raus
  5. 4 : km 5.34 - alt. 2,105 m - Baisse Cavaline
  6. 5 : km 7.26 - alt. 2,562 m - Mont Capelet
  7. 6 : km 8.08 - alt. 2,655 m - Cile du Diable (2685m)
  8. 7 : km 9.07 - alt. 2,442 m - Pas du Diable
  9. 8 : km 10.09 - alt. 2,149 m - Source - Caïros (rivière)
  10. S/E : km 16.53 - alt. 2,031 m - Parking at the war memorial

Notes

La Cime du Diable is an iron-rich mountain, so beware of storms.
No water source.
Traditional hiking equipment.
In July/August, it is possible to swim in the lake, but the water is still quite cool.

This route passes through a protected area, which may be subject to special regulations:

Worth a visit

Remains of the battlefield
A battlefield where the fate of the Alpes-Maritimes was decided many times, the Authion massif is a place steeped in history. Authion is considered the keystone of the defence of the County of Nice, both by Piedmontese strategists, keen to protect the Col de Tende, the gateway to the Lombard Plain, and by their French counterparts, determined to repel an Italian offensive towards Nice and Provence.
A vast cirque where the Bévéra river has its source, the massif is composed of three peaks over 2,000 metres high. On the northern flank, the ridge line leads to the Col de Raus. To the south-east, Giagiabella, Ventabren and Mangiabo lead to the Cols de la Linières and Col de Brouis. Finally, to the south-west, the ridge passes through Tueïs, Turini and Peira Cava. A veritable natural bastion, the Authion commands the lateral passages between the Vésubie and the Roya.

R Mille evokes the anxiety that must have gripped the French soldiers as they stormed these vertiginous slopes in June 1793:
"Those damn mountains! Most of them had never seen mountains so high. They came from Marseille, Hérault, Drôme and Vaucluse, conscripts and volunteers mixed together, they came from the plains and the sun. The mountains: a succession of ravines, faults, precipices and slopes that they would have to climb under gunfire and cannonade. (...) And then there was that black mass cutting across the horizon, a kind of huge beast with a pointed tip, the beast of Authion."

Read more via the link below

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 19 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
chisto06
chisto06
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We made a circular loop starting from "Baisse Cavaline" and climbed "Mont Capelet Supérieur" by taking the path on the left. There are no markings, but follow the path to the summit, which is visible. The slope is steep, but there are magnificent views of the countryside and the Côte d'Azur, and we came across several groups of chamois. Before the summit, keep to the path on the left to reach the top.
Then, we moved on to the "Cime du Diable" (read up on the legends of the Paillons region). After the "Cime du Diable", we carefully descended to the "Pas de Tren", the Diable lakes, then descended via the "Pas du Diable".
Beautiful views of the Mercantour and its peaks.
Be well prepared, as there is a steep climb and a long approach

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Luc MdB
Luc MdB

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 05, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It is impossible to find a place on the website to ask a question... There are problems/suggested solutions but no option to ask a question...

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flyben747
flyben747
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A superb walk, admittedly a little steep in the second half but with very varied scenery. The descent to the lakes is very steep, but a swim before climbing back up to the Pas du Diable is very welcome

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Rando PC
Rando PC

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike, superb views of Mercantour and the Mediterranean
On this date, strong winds, snow at the summit and frozen lake, so bring warm clothing.
Magnificent scenery but slippery terrain and walking made difficult by the snow.
1,300 metres of elevation gain with a passage via the summit of Capelet Supérieur.
Great hike, thank you.

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Pipo
Pipo

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 30, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb hike with a short loop via Capelet Supérieur.
breathtaking views of the various 3,000-metre peaks of La Gordolasque to the north and the sea to the south.
1,300 metres of elevation gain and 16 km.

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Eric06
Eric06
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 17, 2023
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, an alternative starting from La Gordolasque, with superb views of Mercantour and the Mediterranean in good weather
17km, +/- 1300m elevation gain, passing by the summit of Capelet Supérieur
Completed in just under 5 hours with breaks, in trail hiking mode
A few people at the start, then it's quiet

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stemmann
stemmann

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

very beautiful hike with no technical difficulties but long

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Vistounette
Vistounette

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 12, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We did this hike yesterday. Once you reach Mont Chapelet to get to Cime du Diable, you have to cross piles of rocks and, apart from the cairns, we didn't see any markings. Then you regroup towards Cime du Diable, which isn't really specified. Then we hiked as indicated to Authion. We calculated at least 20 km with our GPS... 7 hours and 45 minutes with a picnic break and photo breaks.
A very nice hike

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jl1309m
jl1309m

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 01, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

An interesting route without any difficulties.
When climbing up to the upper CAPELET, watch out for herds and dogs.
The return journey from Lac du Diable to Authion is a bit long.

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Alix06
Alix06

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thank you CBifdesBauges for this wonderful hike!

The short loop via Mont Capelet Supérieur avoids having to walk the same route twice.
As you pointed out, there are no difficulties. The trail to Mont Capelet Supérieur is excellent, so good in fact that we forgot to take the shortcut that avoids climbing to the summit

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Alix06
Alix06

Thank you very much for clarifying that!

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CBifdesBauges
CBifdesBauges

Hello Alix,
Yes, it's difficult in terms of the elevation gain, but there aren't any tricky sections.
CBifdesBauges

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Alix06
Alix06

Hello,
I'm tempted to climb to the summit of Diable. You classify it as difficult due to the significant elevation gain, but are there any tricky sections? Not long ago, I climbed Malinvern and although there weren't any real difficulties, I didn't feel very comfortable on the sections where I had to use my hands. So, I would like to make sure that there are no technical or dangerous sections.
In any case, thank you for suggesting this loop, which avoids having to return by the same path.
Have a nice day
Alix

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nikoulos
nikoulos

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

On the way there, part of the route is off the marked trail to reach Mont Capelet Supérieur before the Cime du Diable.

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eglantine83700
eglantine83700

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 29, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful landscapes

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