The three coves: Podestat, Sormiou and Morgiou

de fr

A very beautiful hike in the Calanques massif to discover the wild Podestat cove. Then the very touristy Sormiou cove before ending at the picturesque Morgiou cove. A difficult hike with some exposed sections and even a few secured climbing sections.
Departure from the Baumettes district (9th arrondissement), free parking at the end of the road (note that it fills up quickly, but you can easily park in the neighbourhood).

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

n°598019
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 15.45 km
  • ◔
    Duration according to the author: 6 hrs 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Very difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 930 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 930 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 236 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1 m
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Photos

Morgiou cove
The Calanque de Sormiou
Podestat cove
Marseille and the Vélodrome.

Description of the walk

Departure from the Baumettes district (9th arrondissement), free parking at the end of the road (note that it fills up quickly, but you can easily park in the neighbourhood).

(S/E) Cross the car park, take the path and follow the black markings (there is a climbing site on the left).

(1) Leave the main path and turn right across the clearing to continue on the path with the black markings. Follow it to the Col de Sormiou.

(2) At the pass, cross the road and take the path opposite that climbs (triple markings: blue/black/GR®51-GR®98) towards Col de Cortiou.

(3) At the pass (beautiful view), begin the descent towards the Calanque de Podestat (note the small cave on your right at the start of the descent).

(4) Leave theGR®98and take the green-marked path on the left that descends (challenging path with some secured passages, for experienced hikers).

(5) At this fork, follow the path marked with green dots, which leads to the beautiful cave at Calanque de l'Escu in a few minutes. Return to the crossroads and continue the hike on the green path. Just after this, you will come to the first climbing passage secured by a chain.

(6) The trail joins the GR®. Continue straight ahead on theGR® (on your right is the path you will take on your return from the cove) until you reach the trail that descends to the Podestat cove.

(7) Leave theGR® and take the path with black dots on the left to the cove. Take the path opposite that goes back up to the GR®.

(8) Turn right onto theGR® (red/white markings) and continue to the trail junction.

(6) Continue onthe GR® (do not take the green-marked path on the right from the outward journey). Return to the Podestat crossroads.

(4) Continue along the outward route, passing Col de Cortiou and then Col de Sormiou.

(2) At the pass, cross the road and continue along theGR® trail to reach the Col des Baumettes.

(9) Leave theGR® and take the red-marked trail on the right, which descends to the Calanque de Sormiou.

(10) Enjoy this cove (swimming, toilets, bottled water at the bar, Sormiou cabins) before starting the climb up the red-marked trail to a place called Le Carrefour.

(11) At the crossroads (huge cairn), turn right onto the blue-marked trail towards the Morgiou ridge. Follow the ridge and then descend towards the Col du Renard (still following the blue markings).

(12) At Col du Renard, turn left onto the black-marked trail that runs along the entire calanque to the picturesque little port of Morgiou.

(13) Enjoy this cove (swimming, toilets, bar). It is more picturesque and less crowded than Sormiou. To return to the starting point, take the road uphill and then the path (marked in red).

(14) Continue along the red-marked trail through the Morgiou valley to the pass (do not take the yellow-marked path on the right).

(15) At the Morgiou pass, cross the track and continue along the red-marked trail which descends through the Escampons valley to the small Morgiou road, then return to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 113 m - Secure car park
  2. 1 : km 0.25 - alt. 132 m - Red/black trail fork
  3. 2 : km 1.23 - alt. 181 m - Col de Sormiou (181m)
  4. 3 : km 1.59 - alt. 230 m - Col de Cortiou (244m)
  5. 4 : km 1.82 - alt. 204 m - GR51-GR98 junction / green trail
  6. 5 : km 2.86 - alt. 46 m - Fork in the dotted green trail / green trail
  7. 6 : km 3.49 - alt. 53 m - GR51-GR98 intersection / green trail
  8. 7 : km 3.69 - alt. 48 m - GR fork / black dotted trail
  9. 8 : km 3.9 - alt. 44 m - Intersection of the black dotted trail and the GR
  10. 9 : km 7.65 - alt. 171 m - Col des Baumettes (181m)
  11. 10 : km 8.83 - alt. 11 m - Calanque de Sormiou
  12. 11 : km 10.07 - alt. 229 m - The crossroads
  13. 12 : km 11.47 - alt. 83 m - Col du Renard (86m)
  14. 13 : km 12.37 - alt. 1 m - Morgiou cove
  15. 14 : km 13 - alt. 31 m - Intersection of the red trail and the yellow trail
  16. 15 : km 14.48 - alt. 198 m - Col de Morgiou (198m)
  17. S/E : km 15.45 - alt. 113 m - Secure car park

Notes

You will need good equipment and plenty of water (at least 3 litres for the day) as it can get very hot in the calanques and shade is scarce.
You can buy bottles of water, but beware of the price (e.g. £3 per bottle at the bar in Sormiou).
Bring everything you need for swimming.
The calanques are crowded during the high season.
I highly recommend the IGN map at a scale of 1:15,000, Les calanques de Marseille à Cassis.

Variants
(4) To avoid this difficult section, continue on theGR® to (6).

(11) At the crossroads, you can take the red-marked path opposite, which leads more quickly to the Morgiou calanque (but the route is much less scenic).

(12) At the Col du Renard, follow the blue-marked trail to Cap de Morgiou, then return to the pass (+2km, about 40 minutes round trip).

Worth a visit

Between (7) and (8), I recommend swimming with a mask, as it feels like you are in an aquarium. Swimming

 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 11 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.8 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.9 / 5
User 18416535

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 31, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Reliable route, magnificent landscapes.
The green trail is currently closed, so only the GR trail leads to Podestat.
Take plenty of water as there is no shade (incidentally, the bars in Morgiou and Sormiou do not accept credit cards and have no running water...).

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LaFeda868
LaFeda868

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 17, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike, a little-used green trail of great beauty, with a few sections where you need to stay focused.
(No need to walk on water, just follow the green markings – not the dotted green line to Escu.)

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Thomjou
Thomjou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Impossible to find the path after Calanque de l'Escu between 5 and 6. The only green path leads back up the cliff, with a rope running along a precipice, then no rope at all. I turned back, having really searched for the passage to Podestat... Maybe next time. Otherwise, a magnificent route, challenging but splendid.

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Yul83
Yul83
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 19, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The route is not very clear once you reach the Escu cave. We couldn't find the passage to the Podestat cove.
After point 6, heading north, we found a very tricky passage to the east, secured by a rope allowing us to progress crouched down for over a hundred metres along the cliff face. The rope didn't look very new and our 12 kg bags (for training) prevented us from progressing safely. So we turned back to point 4 via point 5.
For the rest of the route, everything was fine, the markings are very clear. The landscapes are magnificent and the view of the calanques is splendid!

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bobm730
bobm730

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The GPS track is unclear at Calanque de l'Escu. It shows a route on the water rather than a U-turn.
After turning back (I can't walk on water), I couldn't find the fork in the path leading to Calanque de Podestat. So I retraced my steps for a long way to head towards Calanque de Sormiou.
That said, the views are magnificent. The colour of the water, especially in the Calanque de Sormiou, is exceptional.

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JL83
JL83

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very nice route and description. Well done to the authors.
As others have pointed out, I think a classification of "difficult" rather than "very difficult" would be more accurate.
I think it makes sense to do the route in the direction indicated. This allows you to eat in Sormiou and descend (rather than climb) the steepest parts of the route (descent to Sormiou and descent to Morgiou).
The red/white, black and blue markings are excellent, the green ones a little less so (but still very good).
The 2-3 exposed sections (green section) are well secured. No need to worry unless you are prone to vertigo.
Magnificent views almost all along the route (except for the Morgiou-return to the car park section).

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Mimizen38
Mimizen38

Hello,
Can we do the route in reverse?
Because I definitely want to do the eastern part... and then, if time allows, the western part (because I'd like to go for a walk around the Old Port in the evening before the sun sets).
... so the timing is a bit tight, which is why I'm considering not doing the western part but still keeping it as an option if I feel that there's enough time.

By the way, where would you recommend going to watch the sunset? I was thinking that Notre Dame de la Garde might be a good place, don't you think?

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Nenette13
Nenette13

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike with incredible views.
Quite challenging, whether you're going up or down, it'll burn your thighs.
There are two or three short but challenging sections, so those who are afraid of heights should refrain.

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EvyC
EvyC

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 10, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb walk!
Extraordinary visibility over the sea.

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Z34130
Z34130

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A little tricky with the Col du Renard (since it's not at a "high" point). A difficult hike, perhaps not entirely so. Everyone can judge for themselves!

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• Edited:

The user account associated with this content has been deleted.

culigan
culigan

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 26, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful, fairly challenging hike that is well worth doing, as these three coves are well worth seeing. Of course, not everyone can do this hike, as there are a few tricky but safe passages; we are in the coves and there is something for all levels!!!!!

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