Les forts du Col de Tende

A circular walk of medium length that winds along the crest on the border between Italy and France. It alternates pleasant stretches on old military mule tracks,some steep climbs on paths and a couple of short, slightly rougher stretches.

From Colle di Tenda (1871 m) walk up to the nearby Fort Central (0:15 mins from Colle di Tenda).On the far side of the fort, drop down to the dirt road that connects the Colle di Tenda with Monesiand follow it to north-east on the flat, for over 500 meters, to Col de Cannelle (1874 m, 0:15 mins from Fort Central, not marked on Italian maps).At the pass the road forks, between the two branches of the dirt road take the steep path that climbs along the ridge. After a longclimb, you pick up the old military mule track coming from Fort Tabourde and follow it to the left to the less evident pass of Colde la Vallette (or Col Vallette, also not named on the Italian maps, 2187 m, 1:05 hours from Col de Cannelle).At the pass, which is a small crossroads, continue along the path that rises to cutting the corners of the former military road to Fort Pepin.The path crosses the road several times then, leaving a turn to the left that leads to Colle della Perla, continue right on the road that with a long traversebrings you to Fort Pepin (2263 m, 0:35 mins from Col de la Vallette).Walk around the moat of the fort to the north (caution!) Then cut across the slope on a narrow path to the north. Cross a large landslide of loose stone (take care here!) and, once again on easy slopes, take the mule track to Colle della Perla. Follow it to the left, back to the Col de la Vallette (2187 m, 0:40 mins from Fort Pepin){To avoid the two rougher stretches, you can retrace your footsteps from Fort Pepin back to Col de la Vallette.}From the col retrace your steps for, but leave the path used for the ascent to the right and stay on the former military mule track. The mule track loses altitude with some hairpin bends then makes a long traverse to the south and finally meets the dirt road coming from Col Cannelle. Following the dirt road to the left you arrive at Fort Tabourde (1982 m, 0:45 mins from Col de la Vallette).Once you have retraced your steps, follow the access road to the fort to the end, and with another long traverse you reach Col de Cannelle (1874 m, 0:35 mins from Fort Tabourde).Here you rejoin the Colle di Tenda - Monesi road and go left. Return via the outward route and go up the ramp to the Fort Central on the left. At the first fork go to the right, you cross the Central defensive barracks and descend to Colle di Tenda (1871 m, 0:30 mins from Col de Cannelle).