600 km of marked trails facilitate discovery of the Park and the most popular sites feature interpretation trails with illustrated boards to explain the natural and human heritage. Because the only way to visit the Park in on foot, no vehicles, even mountain bikes, are permitted. This makes the Mercantour National Park a true tourist haven entirely dedicated to Nature.

This year is the Park’s 30th anniversary. Many events are organised on this occasion. Look for the complete programme.

Mont Bégo, which peaks 2,872 m above sea level, divides into two valleys a territory that is home to an archaeological treasure of over 30,000 rock carvings or petroglyphs. Today, thousands of fascinated visitors are attracted by the exceptional beauty of Vallée des Merveilles and Val de Fontanalbe, listed Historic Sites since 1989.

In their grandiose landscapes, shaped by glaciers in the Quaternary period and strewn with a myriad of lakes, herdsmen in the Bronze Age (1800-700 BCE) left signs of their presence on the surrounding rocks. Tools, weapons, animals, anthropomorphic and geometric figures engraved here and there are remainders of the passage of these people who, though they were not artists, were awestruck by the beauty, power and mystery of these mountains.

To visit the site, there are 3 possibilities:
1. free access on authorised trails punctuated with interpretation trails,
2. with a certified guide (list available from Tourist Bureaux and Les Maisons du Parc National du Mercantour),
3. through regularly organised guided tours.
Information from the Maison du Parc National de Tende: ✆ 00 33 (0)4 93 04 73 71