The summit of Marseilleveyre via the Vallon de la Mounine

This is a circular route in the Calanques massif to the summit of Marseilleveyre, but it is intense both in terms of the beauty of the 360° panoramic views and the difficulty of the route.

You are in the Calanques National Park, which is subject to specific regulations. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in a fine of up to €1,500.

Details

118763
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.19 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 4 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 578 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 580 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 429 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 4 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Head to Callelongue, south-west of Marseille.
Park in the car park at the entrance to Callelongue if you arrive early; otherwise, park above Les Goudes or on the side of the road between the car park and Callelongue.

(S/E) From the car park, head towards the port of Callelongue, leave Avenue des Pébrons on your left and take the road opposite between the houses.

Red-white + black markings
At the crossroads above the last house, ignore the path that climbs opposite and turn right towards Marseilleveyre. After a long stretch through the rocks, the path turns east. Ignore the path that climbs left towards the old semaphore and continue straight on until the next crossroads in a bend.

Green markings
(1) Take the path on the left that climbs up into the Vallon de la Mounine. At the end of the valley, look for the number 2 circled in green on a rock, with the inscription Vallon de la Mounine.

More markings
(2) Turn right onto the path that climbs towards a ridge and descends on the opposite side. Continue for a few metres and you will find a path coming from the right.

Yellow markings
Leave the right-hand trail and continue on the path that turns 90° to the left and often runs along the mountainside, offering beautiful panoramic views. After the path turns left, it descends a little and then crosses a green path coming from Grand Malvallon. Continue straight ahead to reach Col de la Selle.

Blue markings
(3) Turn left onto the path that climbs towards the ridges. Be careful, as the markings are often on the rocks and the path is not always visible, so you need to be vigilant.
In many places, you will need to use your hands to help you along the markings, sometimes on the ridge or to get around a rocky peak. At a crossroads, take a path coming from the right.

Blue + Red + Yellow markings
Continue left to climb up a gap between the rocks, then the path gently approaches the summit. After a final rock face to cross, leave the markings on the left and continue right to the Marseilleveyre cross.

Blue markings
(4) Leave a path on the left that goes around the ruins and continue straight ahead to reach the Col des Chèvres. Leave a green marker on the left, and just after that, another yellow marker on the left. Ignore the green marker on the right.

(5) Continue straight ahead with a good climb of about 8 metres, using your hands. The path then goes around a rocky outcrop to the north and arrives at another crossing.
This one is a little more impressive and is equipped with a brand new cable to help you cross. A little higher up, a final small ledge leads to the summit.
Continue straight ahead and ignore the other markings. The path then winds its way down the north side, sometimes over rocky sections and small steps. Leave a brown marker that branches off to the left towards the "Col de Moutte" and continue for 50 metres to reach a crossroads.

Red-white + black markings
(6) Continue left on theGR® trail called "Sentier du Président A.Pellice", which is sometimes equipped with steps to help you negotiate tricky sections. Pass a green marker descending from Pointe Piazza and continue on theGR® trail downhill.
Descend the Pas Edgard heath and continue to the left. Cross a path, continue and then leave a yellow marker descending to the right and, 200 metres after, a red marker coming from the left.

(7) Continue on theGR® which descends, leaving two paths on the right at a platform and turning left to the bottom of the valley.
Turn right twice, then go through two gates to reach Avenue des Pébrons, which leads to the port of Callelongue. Continue to the right to return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 6 m - Car park at the entrance to Callelongue
  2. 1 : km 1.14 - alt. 12 m - Green markings on the left
  3. 2 : km 2.15 - alt. 124 m - Turn right onto the path that climbs towards the > - Col de la Galinette (149m)
  4. 3 : km 3.74 - alt. 277 m - Turn left at Pas de la Selle. - Col de la Selle (275m)
  5. 4 : km 4.36 - alt. 429 m - Marseilleveyre
  6. 5 : km 5.13 - alt. 328 m - Opposite, towards the climbing pass - Col des Chèvres (280m)
  7. 6 : km 6.07 - alt. 137 m - Turn left onto the GR
  8. 7 : km 8.36 - alt. 74 m - Continue on the GR
  9. S/E : km 9.19 - alt. 6 m - Car park at the entrance to Callelongue

Notes

__Please note: this route is demanding as there are many tricky sections that may be intimidating.
Do not attempt this route if you are afraid of heights. Bring a rope to secure children.

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.

Reviews and comments

4.8 / 5
Based on 6 reviews

Reliability of the description
5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.8 / 5
Charly38120
Charly38120

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 07, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Superb walk, quite technical in wet conditions. Best done in spring when it's not too hot.

Machine-translated

MAURY jean-louis
MAURY jean-louis
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

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

In my opinion, the "very difficult" difficulty rating is overestimated.
To make the hike "very difficult", we took a different route at the start. Instead of heading east, we turned left to climb the Escalier des Géants (yellow markings) towards the Saint Michel d'Eau Douce cave, then crossed horizontally, passing in front of the Saint Michel rock to join the route described at the end of the Vallon de la Mounine at the rock marked with a green circle and the inscription "Vallon de la Mounine".
All in all, a superb hike with great views of the islands and Marseille below.

Machine-translated

ROB27
ROB27

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 24, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Very beautiful hike, it's a bit of a riot of colours along the trails... but beware of damage in Marseilleveyre!

Machine-translated

jmsurmon
jmsurmon

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 31, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Machine-translated

Bernard E.
Bernard E.

Good evening

I saw the unmarked trail after the Col de la Mounine, then we found the yellow-marked trail that normally descends to the Campagne Pastré (2), except that at the intersection with the green trail (3) that descends to Marseilleveyre, there is a sign (trail closed, danger) and it has been unmarked.I didn't see any yellow markings until the Col de la Selle, but there are green markings. Where is the danger? Is it closed after the Col de la Selle?

Machine-translated

slinky
slinky ★

Good evening, Bernard,

Does the section of yellow markings you mention correspond to the one I mention in my description?
I don't recall this section being dangerous.
Thank you for your clarification.

I was planning to go back to the calanques this autumn, so at worst I'll go and take another look.

Machine-translated

Bernard E.
Bernard E.

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 08, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello

I did this hike today, except that I started from Mont Rose. However, when I reached the junction with the green trail 3 that descends to the Calanque de Marseilleveyre, the yellow trail had been removed and there was a sign indicating that the trail was closed due to danger! I didn't feel like turning back, so I took it. I didn't see anything extraordinary, but when I reached the Pas de la Selle, I climbed up to Marseilleveyre via the blue trail.

Machine-translated

slinky
slinky ★

Hello,

There are indeed quite a few markers, and the explanations are not easy to understand at this point.

At the beginning of the paragraph, I indicate to follow the blue markings, but perhaps this gets overlooked after the other instructions.
I'll take a closer look at that.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Machine-translated

bibidu13
bibidu13

Hello
The explanations for taking the right path at the top of Béouver did not convince me; perhaps indicate the colour of the path to follow.

Machine-translated

slinky
slinky ★

Hello bibidu13,

Thank you for your message.

Overall, this route could indeed be described as difficult, but the few steep sections led me to rate it higher so that it is reserved for experienced hikers.

In your comment, you mention the reliability of the route on the map. Could you please give me more details?

Thank you.

Machine-translated

bibidu13
bibidu13

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 27, 2015
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

In my opinion, the degree of difficulty is exaggerated. I would rate it as difficult, with rocky sections.
Thank you for the description.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.