Vallée des Merveilles dans deux nuits (almost circular)

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StephenBrown

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Trail stats

Distance: 19.63 mi
Elevation gain: 5,725 ft
Technical difficulty: Moderate
Elevation loss: 5,167 ft
Max elevation: 8,362 ft
TrailRank: 62
Min elevation: 4,524 ft
Trail type: One Way

Coordinates: 1517
Uploaded: June 20, 2018

2 Claps

near Castérino, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (France)

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Trail photos

Itinerary description

Hike date: 29/07/2017, 30/07/2017 and 31/07/2017

A journey consisting of 1 full day sandwiched between 2 half days which included stays in the Refuge des Merveilles and Refuge de Valmasque.

A truly wonderful route that is both scenically beautiful and not too taxing.

I forgot to use my tracker, unfortunately, so I don't have speed and time stats. I would guess we were hiking for:

- Day 1: 5 hours (Lac des Mesches --> Refuge des Merveilles + a side trip up to Lacs du Diable)
- Day 2: 7 hours (Refuge des Merveilles --> Refuge de Valmasque + a side trip up towards Le Lac Gelé)
- Day 3: 4 hours (Refuge de Valmasque --> Casterino).

We took the Train des Merveilles from Breil-sur-Roya up to St-Dalmas-de-Tende, a beautiful journey in itself. From there, we took a well timed bus to Lac des Mesches where we began the hike.

The return journey consisted of a bus from Casterino to Tende, where we completed the journey back to Nice via the Train des Merveilles.

This is a very cost effective and scenic method of doing the hike. However, be sure to check the bus operating times and dates beforehand, as they are limited to just a few months in the summer - only July and August if my memory serves me.

Waypoints

Lovely view over the three lakes

A short but reasonably difficult hike up from the Refuge de Valmasque got us to this wonderful spot. The difficulty arises from the fact the path is rough and unmarked.

Refuge de Valmasque

A very comfortable refuge with good food (even for a vegetarian such as myself). However there is only one shower and the water is cold. Views are spectacular - a fine way to wake up in the morning.

Ibex / Bouquetin sighting

We saw a small family of ibex here, licking the dam. They often lick concrete to savour the salt present on it as a result of efflorescence.

Vallon de Valmasque at sunrise

Waterfall on the Ruisseau de Valmasque

Vallon de Valmasque

Lac Saorgine

Lac Fourca

Lac du Trem

Hiding Hudson

Le Lac Long Superiuer

Refuge des Merveilles

In all my experience of 2 refuges, this seems to be quite an industrial one. Given its ease of access, being not too high and accessible by a reasonably good path, it is large with room for a lot of people. The bathrooms are large, however often full. Food was OK, but the refuge as a whole lacked the homeliness of the Refuge de Valmasque, which was cosier thanks to its smaller size. Pro tip: don't get the rosé wine. Not all Provençal rosés are made equal.