Mercantour Lac d' Allos (08.08.2023)
After returning from March Sipadan diving trip, I spent quite some weekends (and extended breaks) improving my diving skill. After skipping diving for a good one month in April during recovery from surgery, I dived in Pulau Sapi in Kota Kinabalu and Semporna again in May, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Bali Tulamben and Manta ray point in June, Tenggol in July.
With many more diving trips planned in the upcoming months, spending 2 weeks of summer in France gave me a chance to hike before backflipping into the salty water again.
I last hiked in France during the convocation month, June 2022 at Vanoise. A year has gone by, filled with hectic life and a lot of water activities. Having a chance to return to the South of France this time, I thought it was a great opportunity to plan a hike too.
How did I end up returning to Mercantour National Park
I first went to Mercantour – the trail of La Gordolasque (M171) in December 2021. Back then, I stayed at La Bollène-Vésubie. On that night when I drove from Nice to La Bollène-Vésubie, I got a glimpse of how captivating the mountain range along the way was, despite the limited lighting. I thought I should return one day, perhaps this time driving in the day time.
Fast forward 20 months, I was in Antibes with my son for a summer holiday. A lot of splashes in the sea, in the park. When I realized that Mercantour isn’t that far from Antibes, I started to check the possible trails. Mercantour National Park is huge, spanning over 679km2. It shouldn’t take long to reach the border of Mercantour, if this is just a checklist exercise. But no, I am not here for the checklist. I am here to immerse myself into the beauty of Mercantour, enjoying the moment of driving along its wind path by the sides of gorgeous mountain range.
Different from 2021 when most trails were covered by snow, this time around it was summer. Different from 2021 when I drove there alone, this time around, I was on a journey with the VIP, my son Ian. The last hike in December 2021 was a casual hike without end in mind. This time, I found one great trail, Lac d’Allos, a beginner trail that has a rating of 9.8/10 in the www.10adventure.com
The planning
We found in the website the trail of Lac d’Allos, a short 4.5km hike, with 254m elevation change, and expected hiking time of 1.5 – 2 hours. To get from Antibes to Lac d’Allos, we would have to drive through Nice, via D908. The drive took us about 3 hours.
The highlights of the trip
Different from hiking alone, I started the drive a bit late this time, as I was hiking with a 10 years old boy. We started our drive at 8.15am after taking breakfast at our AirBnb place in Antibes. It didn’t take long to reach Nice. From there onward, the route was a familiar one. For at least an hour, it was the same route that I took 20 months back.
We arrived at the checkpoint to the parking area of Lac d’Allos around 11.30am. However, we were told by the staff that the car park was full at that point of time. It would take us at least 2 hours to walk from the check point to the parking area. So we decided to queue and wait for our turn to drive in. There were 7 cars in front of us.
It didn’t take long before our turn came. By 12.15pm, it was our turn to drive in.
A good 20 minutes drive, and we arrived at the parking area. One of the main reasons of choosing this trail, was to make it an enjoyable walk for my son as this was his first official hiking trip.
We took a few breaks, catching our breath at this high altitude of > 2000m above sea level. After 45 minutes’ walk, we finally arrived at Lac d’Allos.
The sky was bright and blue, with no sign of cloud. We took our lunch break at the Refuge.
After the lunch break, we went to the lakeside. By 2.45pm, it was time for us to return to the car. Different from all the previous trail, this Lac d’Allos trail did not come with much wild animal. Through our 2 hours of hiking, we only came across a Marmot.
My transports, accommodation, and F&B
Transport – Renting a car from an agency near train station during Summer, is always expensive. It is the peak travelling season. It costed me around 80 euro for 1 day rent (after averaging out the total bill for 5 days) The easier mode of transport is always to drive there.
Accommodation - We didn’t stay at Mercantour. It was a day trip from Antibes. Having a car allows such flexibility.
F&B – The lunch plate of the day costs 14 euro. The portion was huge, good for 2 persons. Coupled with 3 bottles of drink, we spent about 24 euro at the Refuge.
My 3 Plus and 2 Minus:-
3 things I like about this trip:
- Top of the list, having my son Ian to join this hiking trail
- This is probably the easiest trail I have tried
- The windy roads with majestic views of Mercantour mountain ranges.
2 thing I would do differently next time
- If I am going with Ian, I will bring own lunch. There are limited choices to order from the refuge. For a picky boy, bringing own lunch might be the best bet.
- Arrive earlier. When we reached the lake around 1pm, it was not the best time to take photo. Sky was too bright.
Surprise learnings of the trip
It was a lot of fun, a lot of laughter throughout the drive and the hike. There wasn’t much of reflection time, other than appreciation of the moment I was able to spend with the VIP of the trip – Mr. Ian.
Theme Park may offer a greater adrenaline rush, and perhaps a chance to explain how the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy if we are nerdy enough to do so in the theme park. It was through such a drive and hike at the national park that we appreciate the nature better, learned the importance of protecting the habitat of the wild.