Calern and Gourdon Village Hike near Cannes and French Riviera
Join UIMLA-certified mountain guide Fabrice on half-day hiking tour in the scenic Calern Plateau, between the French Riviera and the Prealps. This is a non-technical program, open to everyone.
Alps
1/2 Day
Mar - Jun, Sep, Oct
Low
Description
The Plateau de Calern (1,458m) is an 8-kilometer-wide limestone high plain located in the municipalities of Caussols and Cipières, in the Alpes-Maritimes department, in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur region, in southeastern France. The plateau stretches out to the north, within the Préalpes d’Azur Natural Regional Park (1,800m).
The Préalpes d’Azur extends over 88,944 hectares between the French Riviera (also known as the Côte d’Azur or Blue Coast) and the French Prealps. Given it receives both Mediterranean and alpine weather, the park features a wide variety of landscapes, ideal for hiking: rugged arid hills, karst plateaus, dense forests, gorges, sinkholes, and caves, fertile valleys, and cultivated hillside terraces, plus numerous picturesque medieval perched villages!
Our tour will depart from the Caussols commune, about an hour's drive from Cannes and Nice, the main cities on the French Riviera. We will hike across the Calern Plateau’s trails and sinkholes for about 3 hours with an estimated 183-meter (600ft) ascent. We can also stop at Gourdon hilltop village which is featured on the "most beautiful villages of France" list.
Along the way, we will enjoy panoramic views of the Mediterranean coastline and the high peaks in the Mercantour National Park (685 km²) far-away north. Furthermore, if you decide to join this outing in spring (especially in May), you will be lucky to see the area covered by wild orchids and other beautiful alpine flowers!
The best time to go on this tour is spring or fall. Given that the trail does not present any difficulty, this program is open to everyone, without any prior hiking experience or fitness level requirement.
Explore one of France’s most scenic landscapes in this half-day trek in the Calern Plateau. Send me your booking request now!
If you are looking for similar activities around the French Riviera, I recommend the Saorge perched village hiking and the full-day guided hiking in Mercantour National Park.
Price includes
- Guiding fee
Price details
- Please note that the price also includes a small snack. However, it doesn’t include picnic. This can be provided with an additional €10charge per person.
Details
More info
We can help you arrange transportation from Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo or any other city in the French Riviera. If interested, please let us know in advance.
Required equipment: • Walking shoes or boots • Breathable jacket • Micro fleece and mountain t-shirts (if possible, avoid cotton t-shirts) • Cap • Water bottle (1 liter per person) • Sunscreen and sunglasses
Meeting point
About the guide
Fabrice
4.9
(50)
Mountain Leader
I am a hiking guide (International Mountain Leader) who has been working all over France (including Provence and the Alps), Italy and Portugal since 2001. I speak fluent English due to my frequent trips to Taos Ski Valley (in New Mexico, USA where my family runs a great hotel and ski school), and my hiking trips in the American Southwest.
I live mainly in Nice (French Riviera), but I also move all over the Alps working in different alpine valleys. I often visit Martinique (French Caribbean island), where I enjoy rainforest and tropical hikes.
When I´m not guiding, I also work as a photographer, and like to climb, ski, play tennis, or kitesurf in my spare time. Additionally, I really enjoy botany and history.
I can guide you for a half day or for as many days as you like. I´ll take you to discover my favourite French Riviera alpine region, and the wild and large Mercantour National Park (counting 8 different valleys) near Nice, Monte Carlo and Cannes.
In my region we can enjoy the Mediterranean landscape at sea level. As we move into higher altitudes, we will discover alpine lakes, larch or pine forests, orchids and alpine flowers, open meadows, spectacular medieval perched villages and old baroque chapels and churches, with great historic value.
We can also discover the hiking hotspots in Provence such as Calanques National Park, Verdon gorges, Sainte Victoire and the Var region, with Saint Tropez a particular highlight.
I also love to hike in Italy in the very famous world heritage Cinque Terre (the amazing national park of the "Five Lands"), or in Liguria near San Remo.
And finally, I always enjoy taking my guests to the northern Alps: to Chamonix and Mont Blanc´s amazingly large panoramas or to the great Vanoise National Park, the largest in the heart of French Alps.
Languages
French | English
Certificates
UIMLA
What people are saying about this trip
Ava
We loved our hike with Fabrice! My family and I had the best time and he was so knowledgeable on the area we were hiking with regards to the history and flora/fauna. Afterwards he even took us through a beautiful town and local winery. This experience was the highlight of our trip in France!
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