Two sites
to Admire the Engravings
The «Vallée des Merveilles» (The Valley of Wonders)
There are no paved roads leading to the Vallée des Merveilles (The Valley of Wonders).
To fully appreciate the engravings, you need to plan spending several days hiking in Mercantour Park. From Tende or Saint-Dalmas de Tende, a day’s walk will take you either to the hotels in the hamlet of Castérino or to the Neige et Merveilles gite. Leaving from the Authion, it takes one day to get to the Refuge des Merveilles.
From any of these places to stay, you can then reach the most ‘sacred’ area of the «Vallée des Merveilles» (The Valley of Wonders) within a few hours, to discover its celebrated rock engravings.
The Fontanalba site
Although more wooded, it is equally as rich in engravings as the «Vallée des Merveilles» (The Valley of Wonders). From Castérino, it is a 2-hour walk to reach the entrance to the site at Lake Vert (Green Lake). You then need around 2 hours to explore the engravings on the famous Fontanalba “ciappe”.