The Escu via Callelongue and the Cirque des Walkyries

Description

Head to Callelongue in the south-west of Marseille. Park at the car park as you enter Callelongue if you arrive early; if not, there is parking beyond Goudes or on the side of the road between the car park and Callelongue.

(D/A) From the car park, head towards Callelongue port, go past Avenue des Pébrons on the left and take the road opposite which leads you between the houses. At the crossroads past the last house, ignore the path which heads off to the right and instead take the path opposite which goes up to the old semaphore tower.

(1) From there, take the Yellow path which climbs to the left. 200m further on, take the path on the right which goes towards Galinette Pass along the Mounine Valley.

(2) On reaching the pass, continue on to the left in order to climb to the head of the Mounine. From this point, go back downhill on the path to the right towards Grand Malvallon.

(3) In the crook of the valley, climb up to the left for several metres until you reach the crossroads of the 3 Arches. Take the path to the right which climbs to the peaks of Malvallon. Admire the view - it makes the detour well worth it!
This is the 'Homme Mort' ('Dead Man') plateau. Continue following the ridge until you are above a cirque - the Cirque des Walkyries.

(4) Go around the cirque by following the path to the right, still on the ridge, which then reaches the Cortious Pass, (you will recognise it quite easily from the smell of the wastewater treatment plant).

(5) Take the GR98 on the right for about 200 metres and begin the descent back down towards the sea via the small path which heads off to the left (Green waymarking).
Be careful, some sections require you to use your hands for help.
No significant difficulty on this section, except perhaps just before arriving at the Escu calanque where wires have been installed in two places to help you cross a wall of rock.

(6) It is possible to get to the calanque via a Green dotted route, but you would need to go back to the section with wires to continue onwards. Once past the calanque, there is another small rock to climb before meeting up with the GR51 - GR98 again which goes a bit higher up.

(7) Continue the hike by following the GR51 - GR98 which goes along the seashore back to Callelongue (D/A).