The Crête de la Madone via Le Reveston

Park near marker 106 on the M6202 road.
Warning: this road is a major thoroughfare.

(S/E) Take the path leading up towards Le Reveston. The wide, winding path overlooks the Var river as it winds through the Gorges de la Mescla with its vertical walls. Just past some ruins, you’ll reach the junction at marker 107.

(1) Continue left to reach marker 108 at the entrance to the abandoned village of Le Reveston.

(2) Carry on past marker 109; immediately afterwards, you’ll come to a series of about ten stone steps and a junction.

(3) Turn right. Caution: the off-trail section begins here. The aim is to reach the summit visible from Le Reveston. This is now a real physical and sporting challenge. Progress is slow, given the significant elevation gain. After passing some ruins of terraced fields, the vegetation—comprising boxwood and broom—slows your progress. The summit serves as a landmark. The trail runs alongside a steep slope on the right for a short while, gradually moving away from it whilst constantly having to clear a path through the vegetation. The hamlet of Reveston gradually recedes into the distance. Passing a few scree slopes, the wooded areas of pine trees are often used as passageways by wild animals, which makes for easier going. You reach a scree slope on the left, crossed by several drovers' roads( wild animal trails) .

(4) Leave the wooded area and cross the scree slope. Turn right just after a largesquare boulder about ten metres high. Continue climbing towards the pass. Reach the start of the ridge.

(5) Carry on for a few hundred metres until you reach the summit of the Crête de la Madone.

(6) Continue along the ridge to the mast.

(7) Turn right onto the descending track and reach a four-way junction.

(8) Turn right onto the yellow-marked path. First downhill, then up a short climb to reach the Col d'Ambellarte and marker 118.

(9) Continue straight ahead towards the Col de la Moutète. You’ll reach a grassy area at the edge of the forest and the junction marked with signpost 105.

(10) Head towards Col de la Moutète - Le Reveston on the right. Be careful: the path runs along a sort of low terraced field and disappears into a pasture. Despite the yellow markings, the presence of a few cairns helps with navigation. You’ll reach a large cairn.

(11) Continue slightly to the left and enter the wooded valley. Stay on the yellow markings and, directly beneath the power lines, you will find marker 100 at the Col de la Moutète.

(12) Turn almost 180° to the right and walk parallel to the power lines. Reach the abandoned hamlet of La Fuont d’Olive.

(13) Continue the descent, then veer left away from the power line to return to the initial junction with marker 107, which you passed on the way out.

(1) Follow the route back in the opposite direction to the outward journey, turning left to reach marker 106 and the car park (S/E).

Hiking boots and poles. Trousers.
Good physical fitness and a sense of direction are required.
(13) The only source of water on this route.

(2) Le Reveston: the open doors of the ruins offer a glimpse of old furnishings and the presence of a bygone era.
(6) At the summit of La Crête, the view is exceptional.
(13) La Fuont d'Olive: here stands a solitary wash house in the middle of the woods, fed by a spring. Passing through the ruins and seeing signs of past human habitation gives pause for thought about the living conditions of these ancestors in the Nice hinterland.