| Cost From: | $5795 |
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| Length: | 14 days |
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| Activity: | Hiking / Trekking, Cultural Adventures |
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This is my second time on this trip! It’s a great hike.N. Cooper—Swampscott MA
Enjoy challenging hiking in an aery realm of grand glacial cirques, crystalline lakes, snow-capped summits, mighty waterfalls, and magnificent beech forests. Along the way we fuel our hikes with hearty mountain fare from cassoulet to Roquefort cheeses.
This hiker’s dream journey brings us from mighty Mont Blanc to the palm-fringed Cote d’Azur, where the jagged Alps plunge into the blue Mediterranean. With each new hiking day, we witness dramatic changes in the culture, scenery, and ecosystems of this corner of the world. Setting off with sweeping panoramas of Mont Blanc’s snowy summit, we hike in high alpine meadows where cowbells echo and blue gentian grows. Heading south, we follow part of the legendary GR5 trail that traverses Europe as we cross two national parks (Vanoise and Mercantour). We then enter the brightly colored hill villages that announce that the Mediterranean is near. When we finally arrive on the welcoming Cote d’Azur, we kick off our hiking boots and head for a celebratory swim in the sea!
$5795 (6-7 members)
$6295 (4-5 members)
Single supplement: $675
Prices are for 2010 dates
Jul 11-24, 2010 Richard Munro
Hashmat Singh
Aug 1-14, 2010 Annie Hawkins
Clive Roberts
Aug 4-17, 2010 Daniel Windham
Aug 29-Sep 11, 2010 Nicos Caravellas
Tim Burford
Reading list, click here.
We gather in Megève, a charming alpine resort with classic Savoy charm. Our first hike is a perfect introduction to the splendor of the French Alps and Mont Blanc (15,770') in particular as we hike a spectacular ridge to Mont Joly (8,282'), enjoying breathtaking panoramas of the Savoy Pre-Alps and peaks of the Vanoise on the horizon.
Our hike up to Col de Bresson (8,098') offers impressive vistas of the southern flanks of the Mont Blanc range, the monolith of Pierra Menta (8,902'), and the summits of the Parc National de la Vanoise. We then enter the park itself, which preserves the wild eastern section of the Vanoise Massif, home to ibex, chamois, and golden eagles. We head by cable car up to Mont Bochor (6,635'), enjoying some of the best views in the Vanoise, including the impressive Grande Casse (12,644'), and hike an old Roman road beneath the towering Grande Casse to Col de la Vanoise (8,255'), with beautiful reflections in three gleaming alpine lakes along the way.
Briancon is an enchanting town whose narrow streets are full of history. This is the perfect spot for a rest day or an optional hike up to Le Grand Aréa (9,411') for an irresistible panorama from Mont Blanc in the north, to Mont Viso on the mountainous French-Italian frontier.
Crossing the Col des Ayes (8,124'), we enter the regional park of Queyras, one of the most remote areas of France, and traverse flowery meadows to the Col Cross, where herds of mountain sheep roam. Overnights are in Ceillac, near one of the most famous mountain passes of the Tour de France, and delightful St. Martin-en-Vésubie, with its outdoor market and cobbled streets.
Right along the Italian border, Mercantour is fantastic for hiking, with its tiny perched villages, glacier lakes, and forests of Holm oak. We cross the rocky Pas de l’Arpette (8,237') to enter the renowned Vallée des Merveilles, an open-air museum of rock engravings dating from the Bronze Age.
After a last hike and lunch in the picturesque medieval village of Saorge, we head to the coast for a well-earned swim at the beach in front of our hotel. Depart from Nice on Day 14.
This is the Itinerary-at-a-Glance. For the complete trip description, Download Full Trip Brochure
