Day 3 of the Via Alpina Red hiking itinerary takes you into Mercantour National Park and through the famous Vallée des Merveilles.

Statistics

4 - 5

hrs

1,061

m

496

m

12

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Difficult

Description

Today is definitely one of the best days of the week-long Via Alpina hiking itinerary.

You’ll enter the Mercantour National Park and pass through the famous Vallée des Merveilles (Valley of Marvels).

After leaving your lodgings in Casterino, follow along the Valmasque stream around the base of the Mont Paracouerte to the entrance of the Mercantour National Park.

After stopping at the Valmasque hut for refreshments, keep going southwards along the path, which will lead you past a trio of stunning alpine lakes: the Lac Vert, Lac Noir, and the Lac du Basto.

Before you reach the Baisse de Valmasque Pass, turn onto the GR52, leaving the Via Alpina Red briefly to venture down the Valley of Marvels, where you will find over 1000 carved boulders and rocks dating back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Spend the night at the Refuge des Merveilles.

For more information: http://www.cafnice.org/cafbase/accueil.php **Sources** http://www.cafnice.org/cafbase/accueil.php http://www.mercantour-parcnational.fr/en http://www.via-alpina.org/en/stage/328