Ascent to the Merveilles refuge from Lac des Mesches

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It was the first hike with bivouacking that I had organised, and I was a little apprehensive about not finding the starting point or getting lost on the trail, for example. But the signpost along the road leaves no doubt about the starting point, and the trail is very clear.

I had struggled to gauge the level of difficulty of the hike, which was "moderate" with a lot of elevation gain. But I found it very accessible and doable even for a beginner. It's uphill, but like most hikes, and above all, it offers incredible scenery from start to finish.

There are no difficult sections for those who are afraid of heights (unless you take the Cairns trail on the way back, where the view is more impressive but still easy).

Up there, the refuge is perfect at any time, whether for lunch or dinner, and they even have draught beer

As for the mid-September bivouac, a sleeping bag wasn't enough, but luckily the refuge was kind enough to lend us blankets, which saved us!

In short, I will return again and again with friends!

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike, well marked, but the sections on stony paths are not very pleasant. Fortunately, the route along the stream and the arrival in the valley near the lakes are magnificent.

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Date of your route : Sep 08, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

magnificent hike with several possible options to reach the Merveilles refuge, about 3½ hours of climbing with a few short breaks, sublime scenery. We had lunch at the refuge, which was very good and plentiful, and then we descended slowly, taking about 3 hours in total. We covered about 20 kilometres and climbed about 750 metres of elevation gain

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Date of your route : Jul 27, 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! We stuck to the planned schedule, stopping regularly to take photos and have lunch. I was worried that it might be too physically demanding for my mum, but we made it at our own pace, without rushing, while still following the route. We set off from Lac des Mesches and made our way to the refuge where we spent the night. The next day, we hired a guide to visit the rock carvings and were lucky enough to see marmots. To limit the impact of the descent on our knees, we took part of the trail back down to the lake. I really want to go back to do a few stages in other mountain huts in the valley. Please note that there is no mobile phone reception at the refuge. We downloaded the hiking map and booked the guide in advance. On the way back down, the map didn't work. It remains to be seen whether the maps work if some people choose to do several stages in the valley.

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Date of your route : Aug 25, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

According to the wardens, the Refuge des Merveilles is expected to be closed for renovation for the next two seasons. Please confirm if you plan to spend the night there.

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Date of your route : Aug 22, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Wonderful hike! Well done and thank you for the Visorando option! At points 8 and 9, thanks to the option offered by Visorando (via the footpath instead of the 4x4 track), our hike became more interesting and enjoyable. In fact, this path allowed us to continue walking right next to the Minière valley, which has very beautiful reliefs and even a beautiful waterfall (?), at least for us. Although the path is a little steeper, as already mentioned by Visorando, we were sufficiently rewarded by the beauty of the landscape and the sighting of a few marmots.
Of course, from point 10 to the finish, the scenery is still very beautiful. Finally, the surroundings of the Merveilles refuge are superb.
The ascent time of 4 hours 25 minutes (including picnic and photo breaks) is confirmed.

In fact, we did two days of hiking: on the first day, we climbed from Lac des Mesches to the Merveilles refuge and spent the night there; on the second day, we took a guided tour of the rock carvings (duration 3 hours, online booking required before the climb or the day before, as there is no network coverage at the refuge) in the Vallée des Merveilles, then via the Baisse Valmasque we visited the magnificent three lakes (Lac de Basto, Lac de Noir and Lac de Vert, where the Valmasque refuge is located) and then descended to Castérino (there is a shuttle service between Castérino and Lac des Mesches). So you can park at either location.

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