When you say "a name, a guarantee": a territory named after "could not be anything other than "wonderful".Valley of Wondersâ, an âopen-air museumâ, dotted with colored stones smoothed by glaciers, mountain lakes and a forest that enchants with its greenery and aromas.
We are in the heart of the Mercantour National Park, pride of the Alpes-Maritimes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, between Italy and, in fact, Provence, an indisputable oasis of biodiversity among the richest in France.
A magnificent landscape that meets the sea and the mountains, terraces of olive trees, streams and picturesque perched villages.
The Valley of Wonders, a journey of 5000 years
In this true paradise for hikers and hikers, where you can walk against the backdrop of snow-capped peaks, among craggy rocks, alpine lakes and forests, and strain your eyes to observe mountain animals (of which there are so many!), including the suede who, as "principal inhabitants", are never too far away.
But we're just getting started. In fact, the valley is the kingdom of rock carvings and here there is never a "simple excursion" but a trip backwards 5000 years where the men of the Bronze Age left their mark by printing signs on the stone that honor the divinities of the sky and the mountains.
In the protected space of the engravings, hiking is only allowed along the marked trails, where you can discover their meaning thanks to the educational panels; However, it is also possible to carry out an in-depth visit together with the Authorized and accredited guides. of the National Park, which take visitors to admire the most unique engravings while recounting the most contradictory theories regarding its meaning.
And then him Mount Bego with its 2872 meters of height that, in the eyes of prehistoric man, must have seemed "sacred", a means of elevation towards the God or Gods: and it is precisely along its slopes where they engraved the stone to "sacralize" those places .
Today a National Monument, the archaeological zone of Monte Bego offers visitors the exciting experience of finding themselves before the moving testimony of an ancestral cult.
Nature and biodiversity, absolute protagonists
Walking through the Valley of Wonders, spending a few days in the refuges, allows you to come face to face with the "charm of the wonderful" and live unforgettable moments and days in front of the mountain, with its rhythms, its silences. , is landscapes shaped by steep rocks and, immediately after, by the green flora.
Equally exciting is the possible sighting of ibex, chamois, roe deer, wolves, marmots and other splendid representatives of the alpine fauna.
The Museum of Wonders, the unmissable stop
Inaugurated in Tenda in 1996, the "Museum of Wonders" is another stop to include on the list to better complete and enrich your knowledge of one of the most surprising valleys in France.
Not in vain, it is the ideal place to deepen your visit to the archaeological site and its engravings or to better prepare the excursion: throughout its rooms, designed with modern, interactive and playful scenery to welcome even the little ones, the museum reconstructs with great detail and realism the life of the first inhabitants of the Valley and offers its precious contribution to the valorization and protection of a unique archaeological heritage.
