The Corniches Paretti, the Calanque du Devenson, the Couloir des Huluberlus

Departure from the Luminy car park.

(S/E) Take the track leading to the Col de Sugiton (Blue trail no. 6 and Yellow trail no. 6a).

(1) At Col de Sugiton, take the^GR®51-98opposite (east). Continue along the track that passes below the ruins of a Jas (Yellow Trail No. 6, Green Trail No. 6 and^GR®). The track then makes a sharp turn to the right. After 300m, these three trails leave the track for a stony path on the left (south-east) joining the "Sentier des Treize Contours" which will be taken on the way back.

(2) Stay on the track (south), continuing along the balcony above the Falaise des Toits until you reach a barrier (on the right at the edge of the cliff, with a beautiful view of the Aiguille de Sugiton and Cap Morgiou). Cross the barrier and follow the old Red Trail No. 6, which is now partially erased. The track quickly turns into a magnificent balcony path (south-east) passing successively above the Rocher du Torpilleur, the Calanque des Pierres Tombées and the Rocher du Tonneau.

Near the Tour de Pise, at the bottom of the Couloir du Candellon, walk along the Socle de la Candelle. The path is now wilder and more chaotic, and you will need to climb over a few fallen trees. Look out over the magnificent slabs of La Commune and La Lecque, ideal for sunbathing after a swim.

As you approach the Calanque Saint-Jean de Dieu, the path along the cliff becomes more exposed. You will come out at the bottom of the Val Vierge above the calanque. Follow the red markings as best you can as they climb up the Val Vierge and lead to the Pas de l'Oeil de Verre.

(3) Climb this 15-metre rocky outcrop, which is easily passable using the chain in place. Look up to see the famous "eye of glass" on the right-hand wall.

Follow the path for about 200m to an intersection. Leave the red trail and turn right (south-west) onto the green trail no. 9 (green markings and two black crosses) leading to the Corniches Paretti.
Walk along the impressive wall of La Concave, the largest overhang in the Calanques, featuring a series of three "Du Grec" routes ending with the Directissime from 1966, which is a true masterpiece.

Follow the green markings. The trail includes a few climbing steps on the ascent and descent and some more or less exposed traverses. Shortly after La Concave, cross the Grand Couloir du Devenson.
Above the Anse des Enfers, follow the path, which becomes narrower as it approaches the Petit Couloir du Devenson, at the foot of which rises the Aiguille du Devenson.

You will arrive at a ridge overlooking the couloir at the intersection with the Tracé Brun, which leads directly to the top of the Devenson cliffs on the left.

(4) Continue to the right towards the sea until you reach a small pass on the ridge leading to the foot of the Aiguille du Devenson (green markings and cairns).
From the small pass, the route becomes more difficult and exposed, overlooking the sea below with several very exposed rocky passages to cross.

(5) Descend via a short downclimb to the bottom of the Petit Couloir (east), cross it and climb up a rocky outcrop on the right via a short climb.
Follow the green markings. The path follows a series of narrow, exposed ledges, with rocky outcrops and promontories to climb over and descend.

Above Anse de la Baume, the trail moves away from the sea and climbs up through the pine trees.
A gentle descent leads to the foot of the Grande Arête du Devenson spur, the gateway to the impressive Cirque du Devenson.
An easy descent leads to the top of the cove. A steep, earthy descent (carved steps) leads to a small scree slope leading to the beach at the bottom of the Calanque du Devenson.

(6) The large, more or less flat boulders at the water's edge are ideal for picnics and sunbathing after a swim. The Cirque du Devenson dominates with its steep walls. To the east, the wall of the Tour Save plunging into the sea prevents any continuity of the path. The view extends towards the cliffs of Eissadon, Oule, Castelviel and, in the distance, towards the Soubeyrannes cliffs and the Bec de l'Aigle.

Leave the cove by retracing your steps for about 200 metres shortly after the Grande Arête until you reach a visible three-way junction where a path branches off to the right (west).
The Black Trail No. 8 of the Corniche Aérienne begins here, heading towards a large pine tree suspended about fifteen metres from the foot of the cliff.

Follow this path, marked by a black circle on the rock face. You will come out onto a small cove where a blue inscription with an arrow pointing to the left indicates "Grande Baume and Couloir des Hurluberlus via the Corniche Aérienne 1921". Reach the pine tree by traversing upwards to the left. Cross the small ledge above to an equipped belay station (2 stainless steel bolts).
Climb the path that follows towards a rocky ledge with a very visible crack. Climb this second ledge following the crack to an equipped belay station (pigtail, historically used for abseiling, and stainless steel bolt).

Note: These two short pitches, with a difficulty rating between III and IV, have now been cleaned and cleared of unstable holds and are protected by numerous stainless steel bolts.
Follow the path that climbs diagonally to the left to a flat area below the Grande Baume du Devenson (scree and rocks).

(7) Continue to follow the Tracé Noir by taking the path to the right (east) through the vegetation. Reach a small rocky outcrop to the right of the Baume, climb up it to reach the Couloir des Huluberlus. Climb up the couloir and reach a rocky passage on the left crossing above the Grande Baume. This exposed but easy and well-protected passage marks the end of the difficulties.

Follow the steep path to the ridge where you join the Sentier Vert n°8 just after the Col du Devenson. You will soon reach the intersection with the^GR®51-98(Vallon des Charbonniers) where the Petit Couloir du Devenson ascent route begins nearby.

(8) Follow the Green and^GR® trails up the ridge (north-west) to above the Concave before descending to the Col des Charbonniers. Continue to the intersection where you leave the Green trail and stay on the^GR® which climbs up to the left (west) of the Vallon de la Candelle. Follow this path along the slopes of Cap Gros. Cross the valley to join the Yellow No. 6 and Green No. 6 trails going up to Col de la Candelle.

(9) Descend via the Sentier des Treize Contours (marked yellow no. 6, green no. 6 and^GR®) which winds beneath the slopes of Mont Puget along the Promontoire des Américains. After a descent over slippery rocks, cross the Chemin du Centaure to rejoin the route taken on the way up.

(2) At the intersection, take the track in the opposite direction towards the Col de Sugiton.

(1) From there, head to the Luminy car park (S/E).

Difficulties:

This long hike combines walking and climbing and has a significant cumulative elevation gain. The duration will depend on the number of participants and their technical level, particularly if it is necessary to belay and/or install handrails in exposed passages, and on the inevitable swimming break.

The route is marked, but the markings are old and, in places, partially erased. The GPS track is approximate on the sections close to the cliffs where the difficulties are concentrated. Much of the route is not shown on IGN maps. It is therefore often necessary to switch to "route finding" mode.

The Red Route No. 6 (Pas de l'Oeil de Verre), Green Route No. 9 (Corniches Paretti) and Brown Route (Petit Couloir du Devenson) can be done without ropes for people who are comfortable in this type of terrain and have level III climbing skills, noting that several passages are very exposed and a fall in these areas could be fatal (fall of several dozen metres).

The ascent of the Corniches Aériennes (Black Route No. 8) requires level IV climbing skills and mastery of belaying techniques.

The exposed sections, particularly Les Corniches Aériennes, are now equipped with numerous sealed stainless steel bolts to secure these passages using appropriate belay techniques.

Equipment:

Wearing a helmet is recommended on the Corniches Aériennes. A 25m rope (1/2 abseil of 50) and 5 to 6 quickdraws are required if you wish to belay yourself on the traverses (tensioned rope or handrail) and when climbing the various rocky outcrops and the two pitches of the Corniches Aériennes.
As always in the Calanques, be sure to bring at least 1.5 litres of water per person.
IGN map "Les Calanques" 1:15000.

History & Toponymy:

Le Val Vierge (The Virgin Valley) was named in 1899 by the first explorers of this valley, given the density of the vegetation and the difficulty of entering it.

The Calanque Saint-Jean de Dieu is better known as the Calanque de l'Oeil de Verre, but this name predates the installation of the famous eye. The origin of this name has been lost in time.
Initially, the "Pas de l'Oeil de Verre" was called "Pas du Rocher Club" in honour of the members of the Rocher Club de Provence who, on 8 April 1900, found this passage connecting the Val Vierge to the Calanque Saint-Jean de Dieu. Members of the Société des Excursionnistes Marseillais, constantly hearing this bizarre name, decided to give it some justification by sealing an old lamp lens, which they had transformed into a glass eye, in the middle of the passage on 13 November 1904.

"Le Grec" was the nickname of Georges Livanos, one of the greatest mountaineers of his time, famous for having opened a large number of highly difficult routes in the Italian Dolomites.

Land access to the Calanque du Devenson was discovered in 1914 by Marius Paretti. The ledge he used has borne his name since 1921.

La Grande Baume was first reached on 2 January 1921 by five "Huluberlus": Edmond Bellanger, Albert Faures, Henri Imoucha, Raoul Barbier and Louis Félix.
The shore was reached on 13 February 1921 by Albert Faures, Henri Imoucha and Louis Félix.

Alternative route: Ascent of La Calanque du Devenson via the Petit Couloir

If you do not wish to climb back up via the Corniches Aériennes and the Couloir des Huluberlus, you can reach the Devenson ridge by climbing the Petit Couloir du Devenson via the Tracé Brun.
To do this, from Calanque du Devenson, take the route you took on the way up in the opposite direction until you reach the intersection of the Green and Brown Trails on the right bank of the Petit Couloir du Devenson.

(4) Follow the Brown Trail up to the foot of the cliff. Cross the rocky barrier blocking access to the top of the couloir by crossing the wall on the right, using the chain in place. Continue up the slab equipped with a chain, which leads to the foot of the scree on the right bank of the couloir.
Follow the partially faded Brown Trail. Leave the scree (numerous descent tracks) to climb up the rocky ridge on the left bank, which leads to the Crête du Devenson, where you rejoin the original route near the intersection of the Green Trail No. 8 with the^GR® 51-98 (8).

Visit to the Grande Baume

(7) A short round trip allows you to visit the Grande Baume, where a few more or less mystical artists have expressed themselves, for better or worse depending on your taste.