Trails on the mountainside enamelled of small hamlets. Walk in the warm sunny alpine pastures, in the distance, in contrast, the snowy summits, before climbing higher. Marmots and chamois populate the scenery. The northern slope of the Ecrins massif, the sublime lakes, is discovered from the Emparis plateau to the Lautaret pass. As the days go by, the Meije is revealed, adorned with crystalline rocks, in the middle of its glaciers.
Road map : 5 nights and 6 days (four to five hours of walking / day) in an environment preserved thanks to the Ecrins park.
One passes the night in shelter or in refuge. In the morning, magical awakenings face the Meije, which is reflected in the lake.
An affordable itinerary for a hiker in good physical shape. Starting at € 445, www.labalaguere.com .
The pastures occupy more than half the park's surface, and one walks in one of the six valleys, rocked by the bells of sheep flocks. There is also a prestigious fauna, such as the golden eagle and the bearded vulture, red carpets of rhododendrons, lilies, gentians, orchids ... Not to mention the famous valleys of the Merveilles where 36 000 cave engravings dating from the Bronze Age form an open-air museum.
Roadmap : From half a day. On the program: about thirty hikes of different levels.
Do not miss the valley of the Gordolasque with torrents, vacherie and alpine houses. At night, you sleep in the smell of wood, at the Grand Capelet hotel, single rooms (80 €, ask for the 221 with a view of the mountain) but a delicious menu.
04 93 02 19 77. www.mercantour.eu , www.cotedazur-tourisme.eu .
Beware, the difference in altitude is strong, but for a Corsica, this route, from the gorges of the Scala di Santa Regina to the Gulf of Porto, is "the most beautiful" of the island. It allows to discover its interior through mule tracks, notably the lake of Nino, paradise of the wild horses, the gorges of the Spelunca and the sublime gulf of Porto. An explosion of colors classified as a world heritage of humanity by Unesco.
Roadmap : 7 nights and 8 days. Sports level.
In the evening you sleep in the mountain villages. End of the stroll by the famous path of the factor, to discover the creek of Tuara and the creeks of Piana.
Starting from 650 €, www.corsicanatura.fr .
Open the lungs. In this grandiose panorama, you breathe. The snow-capped peaks line as far as the eye can see, a gigantic cascade descends the gray and pink wall of the circus of Gavarnie. We are in the mountains, but the water is everywhere. Along the roads, the torrents bounce on the rocks. The trails border impressive gorges and flowered alpine pastures. From life-size romanticism.
Roadmap : 7 days and 6 nights.
Departure from the spa town of Cauterets and stages in the comfortable chalet of the Clot, with its beautiful panoramic terrace, or in guarded refuge.
One night is planned in the auberge of the circus of Gavarnie. Starting from € 485, www.allibert-trekking.com .
In 1876, the Scottish novelist Louis-Robert Stevenson falls in love with an American, Fanny Osbourne. But she is married and returns to California. It is in the Cévennes that he leaves to forget, with his donkey, Modestine. Basalt of the great plateaux, domes of volcanoes, mauve fields of heather, marsh of Gévaudan, deep valley of the Haute-Loire ... Every day parade the incredible landscapes. At the turn of a path stand a menhir, the ruins of a castle, an abbey or a village of the twelfth century, unforgettable encounters.
Roadmap : 8 days and 6 nights.
Two courses of choice: Le Puy-en-Velay-Chasseradès or Chasseradès-Saint-Jean-du-Gard (or both, in fourteen days).
We stay in comfortable hotels or bed and breakfasts in the villages.
From 520 € the course. www.pedibus.org .
