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#139 of 300 · Mercantour National Park

Vallée des Merveilles

FranceAlpes-Maritimes

An open-air gallery of some 40,000 Bronze Age rock engravings below Mont Bégo, reached from Lac des Mesches up the Vallon de la Minière past old mine workings to the Merveilles hut and a string of glacial lakes.

Distance
17 km
Out and back
Ascent
1,000 m
High point 2,300 m
Time
7 h
Day hike
Difficulty
Moderate
Sustained climbing or a long day, no exposure.
Best months
Jul–Sep
When the route is usually in condition
Start
Lac des Mesches (Casterino road)
Mercantour National Park

Route

Topographic map of Vallée des Merveilles, from Lac des Mesches to Vallée des MerveillesLac des MeschesRefuge des MerveillesVallée des MerveillesStart: Lac des MeschesTurn-around: Vallée des Merveilles© OpenStreetMap contributors, SRTM · © OpenTopoMap
StartTurn-aroundWaypoints joined by straight lines, not a GPS track.
  1. Lac des Mesches
  2. Refuge des Merveilles
  3. Vallée des Merveilles
  4. back the same way

Wildlife along the route

This hike hasn't been surveyed yet. Its species list is built from iNaturalist records around the route by the survey script — see how the data is made.

Nearby on the list