Le Col de Petite Cayolle

A beautiful walk from start to finish, with a surprise around every turn. 

START: Col de la Cayolle
FINISH: Col de la Cayolle
TIME: 3-4 hours

Well I certainly did not expect that!

Look! It's a chamois!

We are on our way to the Col de Petite Cayolle, having parked up at the Col de Cayolle, and a chamois (alpine mountain goats which are incredibly rare) hurtles down the hillside towards us. Having probably been disturbed by walkers higher up the path, the chamois charges down the rocky hillside, across a large patch of snow, then crosses the path we are watching it from, and then once on the other side appears to carry on grazing to its heart's content. A truly great - and unexpected - moment.

This is a walk that is full of surprises. The first was probably the drive up to the Col de la Cayolle itself. Approached via the Ubaye valley and the town of Barcellonette, any intrepid explorer is in for a hairy ride through narrow gorges and along cliff edges. Make sure you keep your wits about you as you ascend to the Col.

The Col de la Cayolle is in the heart of the Mercantour National Park, the most southerly of the alpine national parks. Once you reach this first pass by car, you begin to glimpse its beauty: forests and mountains meet in an area which is truly wonderful.

From wherever you have parked, head to the col itself, and take the path heading westwards along the curve of the adjacent hillside. This is a lovely gradual ascent through alpine meadow; be sure to look out for marmots (and indeed chamois!) as you ascend through this pasture, keeping an eye also on the views back down the valley from whence you came.

One of the surprises of this walk is the sheer number of sheets of water you will come across. In a high upland area like this, you would not particularly expect any water sources to be here at all, let alone there to be so many and so beautiful. The first is perhaps the least picturesque: a slightly dried-up tarn nestled beneath the crags of the above mountain, which you find after coming up the first real incline.

From there, follow the path round. You will soon hit a rock field as the path begins to ascend up the hillside; this is where we first saw the chamois. This path can be slippery but it should cause you no bother - follow it as it zigzags and switchbacks up the mountainside, and you will soon find yourself at the col.

And there, as you stand at the col de petite cayolle and look down, you will get a feeling. It is the feeling of looking over an edge and seeing a deep blue pool. Get used to that feeling. Although the rest of the Mercantour mountains begin to open up in front of you, the main attraction is the lake beneath you: the bluest blue, ringed by ice, and not the most splendid sheet of water you will see today.

One of many lakes to be found on this walk and one of the prettiest.

Once you have taken it in, it is time to loop back round and in the process gain even better views of the distance. Take the path to the east, which winds along the hillside to the flat land beyond. This is also chamois territory, so keep your eyes peeled! Once at the flat land beyond the hill, you can now see, round to the west, more of the Mercantour: Mont Pela is the tall spire immediately to the west, with the rest of the Mercantour acting as a green crown around it. In the very distance, in between the points of this crown, you may even be able to glimpse Mont Ventoux down in the Provençal area of France.

Again, take in the view and then continue along the path behind you. Yet another lake appears in front of you: this one is not quite as nice as the one you have just left behind you, though the ice formations on its southern bank are spectacular. I would suggest you take a break here but for the flies which protrude the shores, so instead press on along the path which snakes around the north and east of the lake, and up onto the small hillock above the lake.

From this hill, you get the best middle-and-long distance views: even though we are already at the southern extent of the French Alps, hills and mountains continue to stretch far to the south and south-west; Mont Pela stands tall to the west; purest white snowbanks lather the top of the hills immediately to the north; and in the mountains to the east lush forests cling to rugged cliffs.

Walk over the other side of the hill and take the path along the long plateau which stretches before you. Continue around the large rock, and soon you will come to a crossroads. The path back to the Col is down to the left; however, before you descend, take a short detour by taking the path to the right.

Walk along this path until you come to the edge of the cliff. And there, in its magnificent glory, is the Lac d'Allos. 500 metres deep, it is the largest lake in Europe at this altitude, and it is what you might describe as perfect: deep and blue with terrific cliff scenery with awe-inspiring distant views, there is a little island close to its right-hand shore and rivers filled with snow flowing into it. If I were to design a lake, I would try my very best to make it look like that.

I would recommend a good amount of time sat on that cliff top gazing into the Lac d'Allos just to do it justice. When you have torn yourself away from it, however, make your way back to the crossroads and descend via the path the other side of the crossroads.

This path descends steeply so take care, but soon you will be swinging along the side of the hillside without a care in the world. Look down and you will see yet another lake, this one surrounded by trees in a little glade to itself. Continue along this path through the two corries and you will soon come out onto the hillside proper: the road leading down off the Col de la Cayolle and down towards the Mediterranean will be visible from here.

Yet another lake, with the Mercantour National Park making for tremendous background scenery.

Walk along this path, and below you you will see trees dotted along the hillside, with cattle munching on the grass in between. The road snakes up and down this hillside before climbing steeply back to the Col. The final feature of this walk is, of course, a little lake: much shallower than the others but nonetheless still picturesque, especially with the cliff scenery in the background.

And thus makes a fantastic circuit; you will find yourself back at the Col wondering how a 3 hour walk can offer so many surprises. From views to lakes to creatures, this walk offers something for everyone.

A constant joy from start to finish. If you can stomach the drive, this walk will reward you over and over again.

And one final surprise - driving back from the Col de la Cayolle, we found this marmot, slurping water from underneath the tarmac of the road!