Mercantour National Park

An hour or two north of the Riviera the ground rises to nearly three thousand metres and stays there, and the Mercantour runs along that border ridge in a series of long valleys facing a twinned Italian park on the other side. Under Mont Bego, in the Vallee des Merveilles, tens of thousands of figures were pecked into the rock in the Bronze Age: horns, weapons, field patterns, faces. The protected core can only be entered with a guide. Elsewhere the park is high walking country, with larch, lakes at altitude and the best chance in France of seeing ibex and chamois without effort. Wolves returned to these valleys on their own in the 1990s.

What you actually see

• The Vallee des Merveilles - Bronze Age engravings pecked into rock beneath Mont Bego.
• Lac d'Allos - a large natural lake above two thousand metres, an hour's walk from the road.
• Ibex and chamois - reliably seen on the high slopes in the early morning.
• The border ridge - peaks near three thousand metres facing the Italian park.

When to go

June to September. The high passes and the engraved valley lie under snow for much of the year and the guided season is short, running through the summer only. Storms build in the afternoon, so walks start early. October brings the larch colour. Refuges book out well ahead for August and cannot be relied on as a walk-up option.

Honest expectations

Getting here means long drives on hairpin roads from the coast, and there is no quick version of the visit. The engravings are faint and can only be approached with a guide in the protected zone, which disappoints people expecting cave-painting drama. Weather at altitude turns hard and fast. Mobile coverage is patchy and villages in the valleys have few services.

Nearby

Saint-Martin-Vesubie and Tende sit at the valley heads, with Nice on the coast below.